UC-NRLF 


SB    EflS 


, 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT   OF 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALS WORTH. 

Received  October,  1894. 

Accessions  No.  fc-      Class  No. 


KENT'S 


NEW  COMMENTARY: 


MANUAL  FOR  YOUNG  MEN. 


BY  C.   H.  KENT. 


DAVENPORT,  IOWA: 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE   AUTIIOK. 

1880. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1880,  by  CHAKLES  H.  KENT,  in  the  office 
of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


GAZETTE  PRINTING  HOUSE, 
DAVENPORT. 


1  Lives  of  all  great  men  remind  us, 

We  can  make  our  lives  sublime, 
And,  departing,  leave  behind  us 
Footprints  on  the  sands  of  time; — 

;  Footprints,  that  perhaps  another, 
Sailing  o'er  life's  solemn  main, 
A  forlorn  and  shipwrecked  brother 
Seeing,  shall  take  heart  again.11 


—Longfellow. 


; 


DEDICATION. 

TO    THE 

YOUNG    MEN    OF    AMERICA, 

WITH  THE  KINDEST  REGARDS  FOR  THEIR  WELFARE,  AND  A  HOPE 

THAT  NONE  WHO  MAY  READ  SHALL  FAIL  OF  REACHING 

THE   HIGHEST   ROUND  OF  USEFULNESS,  AND 

OF  ENJOYING  TO  THEIR  FULLEST 

CAPACITY 

THE  FRUITS  OF  A  BEAUTIFUL  LIFE, 
THIS  VOLUME  IS  MOST  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED  BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


•"  The  mother  sending  forth  her  child 

To  meet  with  cares  and  strife, 
Breathes  through  her  tears  her  doubts  and  fears 

For  the  loved  one's  future  life. 
No  cold  '  adieu,1  no  'farewell'  lives 

Within  her  choking  sigh; 
But  the  deepest  sob  of  anguish  gives, 
'  God  bless  thee,  boy  !  —  good  bye!'  " 

—Eliza  Cook. 


IN  THE  INTEREST  OF  • 
THE  FATHERS  AND  MOTHERS  OF  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OF  AMERICA, 

"KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY" 
is  PUBLISHED, 

WITH  THE  SINCERE  HOPE  AND    EARNEST    PRAYER    OF  THE   AUTHOR, 

THAT  IT  MAY  PROVE  INSTRUMENTAL  IN  SAVING  SOME 

DARLING   BOY   FROM   RUIN,   SOME   HOME 

FROM  SORROW. 

THAT    SUCH    MAY  BE  ITS  MISSION,  IT  IS  MOST  AFFECTIONATELY    COM- 
MENDED TO  THEIR  FAVORABLE  CONSIDERATION. 


WHERE  IS  MY  BOY  TO-NIGHT? 

BY  REV.  ROBERT  LOWRY. 

Where  is  my  wand'ring  boy  to-night, 

The  boy  of  my  tend'rest  care, 
The  boy  that  was  once  my  joy  and  light, 
The  child  of  my  love  and  prayer  * 
O  where  is  my  boy  to-night? 

O  where  is  my  boy  to-night? 
My  heart  overflows,  for  I  love  him  he  knows ; 
O  where  is  my  boy  to-night? 

Once  he  was  pure  as  morning  dew, 

As  he  knelt  at  his  mother's  knee; 
No  face  was  so  bright,  no  heart  more  true, 

And  none  was  so  sweet  as  he. 

O  could  I  see  you  now,  my  boy, 

As  fair  as  in  olden  time, 
When  prattle  and  smile  made  home  a  joy, 

And  life  was  a  merry  chime ! 

Go  for  my  wand'ring  boy  to-night ; 

Go,  search  for  him  where  you  will; 
But  bring  him  to  me  with  all  his  blight, 

And  tell  him  I  love  him  still. 


"  Whei\  we  are  out  of  sympathy  with  the  young,  theii  I  think  our  work  in  this 
world  is  over!    That  is  a  sign  that  the  earth  has  begun  to  wither— and  that  is  a 

dreadful  kind  of  old  age.11 

—  George  MacDonald. 

"  I  desire  to  find  in  books  not  what  may  be  blamed,  but  what  may  be  praised, 
and  that  from  which  I  may  learn  something.  This  course  is  not  exactly  in  fash- 
ion; but  it  is  the  most  useful.  Nevertheless,  though  there  are  few  books  or  per- 
sons in  whom  I  cannot  find  something  of  use  to  me,  I  know  how  to  make  a  differ- 
ence in  granting  them  my  confidence.11 

—Godfrey  Wilhelm  von  Leibnitz. 


SMALL    BEGINNINGS. 

BY  CHARLES  MACKAY. 

A  traveller  through  a  dusty  road  strewed  acorns  on  the  lea; 

And  one  took  root  and  sprouted  up,  and  grew  into  a  tree. 

Love  sought  its  shade,  at  evening  time,  to  breathe  its  early  vows; 

And  age  was  pleased,  in  heats  of  noon,  to  bask  beneath  its  boughs; 

The  dormouse  loved  its  dangling  twigs,  the  birds  sweet  music  bore; 

It  stood  a  glory  in  its  place,  a  blessing  evermore. 

A  little  spring  had  lost  its  way  amid  the  grass  and  fern, 

A  passing  stranger  scooped  a  well,  where  weary  men  might  turn; 

He  walled  it  in,  and  hung  with  care  a  ladle  at  the  brink; 

He  thought  not  of  the  deed  he  did,  but  judged  that  toil  might  drink. 

He  passed  again,  and  lo !  the  well,  by  summers  never  dried, 

Had  cooled  ten  thousand  parching  tongues,  and  saved  a  life  beside. 

A  dreamer  dropped  a  random  thought ;  't  was  old,  and  yet 't  was  new ; 

A  simple  fancy  of  the  brain,  but  strong  in  being  true. 

It  shone  upon  a  genial  mind,  and  lo !  its  light  became 

A  lamp  of  life,  a  beacon  ray,  a  monitory  flame. 

The  thought  was  small;  its  issue  great;  a  watch-flre  on  the  hill; 

It  sheds  its  radiance  far  adown,  and  cheers  the  valley  still! 

A  nameless  man,  amid  a  crowd  that  thronged  the  daily  mart, 
Let  fall  a  word  of  Hope  and  Love,  unstudied,  from  the  heart; 
A  whisper  on  the  tumult  thrown,— a  transitory  breath,  — 
It  raised  a  brother  from  the  dust ;  it  saved  a  soul  from  death. 
O  germ!  O  fount!  O  word  of  love!    O  thought  at  random  cast! 
Ye  were  but  little  at  the  first,  but  mighty  at  the  last. 


The  inspiration  of  a  thought,  the  magic  of  a  word  — how  momentous. 


PREFACE. 


An  author  is  supposed  to  have  an  object  in  view  when  he  writes  a 
book;  certainly  he  should  have  some  purpose,  though  it  may  be 
difficult  for  his  readers  to  discern  what  it  is. 

We  must  confess  that  for  years  we  have  had  a  desire  to  write  a 
book,  and  our  desire  is  now  gratified.  We  selected  the  name, 
"  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY,"  because  we  thought  it  the  most  sug- 
gestive, and  as  comprehensive  as  any  we  could  hit  upon.  We 
believe  that  commentaries,  as  a  rule,  treat  upon  various  and  sundiy 
subjects,  and  in  this  particular  we  judge  the  reader  will  be  satisfied 
with  the  number  we  have  introduced.  They  are  not  all  classified 
under  the  most  appropriate  headings,  for  to  tell  the  truth,  we  ran 
short  of  headings,  and  we  ask  pardon  for  the  seeming  omission. 

Our  arrangement  of  topics  is  novel  and  original  with  us,  and  we 
are  confident  our  readers  will  heartily  endorse  our  ideas  in  that 
respect.  If  it  should  appear  that  we  have  been  guilty  of  plagiar- 
ism, we  shall  plead  that  we  have  committed  the  sin  without  feeling 
any  of  the  pangs  of  a  guilty  conscience,  and  are  willing  to  be  for- 
given therefor.  As  to  the  many  inelegant  expressions  that  may  be 
found,  we  are  keenly  sensitive  thereto,  and  that  we  have  murdered 
good  old  "  Lindley  Murray"  in  cold  blood  over  and  over  again,  we 
are  free  to  confess,  and  we  expect  that  critics  and  book  reviewers, 
if  they  shall  condescend  to  notice  our  bantling,  will  give  us  a 
"hazing"  that  would  satisfy  a  "  West-Pointer,"  or  any  other  man. 
We  shall  be  most  seriously  disappointed  should  we  not  enjoy  such 
a  delightful  treat.  But  if  they  do  "  go"  for  us,  we  trust  they  will 
not  fail  to  satisfy  their  thirst  "for  blood"  to  the  fullest  extent. 
With  this  free  and  open  confession,  we  commit  our  work,  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  our  executioners,  praying  that  if  they  have  a  drop 
of  the  "  milk  of  human  kindness"  left  over,  they  will  not  let  it 
spoil  on  their  hands. 

We  claim  no  special  gift  or  talent  for  "  book-making,"  nor  have 
we  had  any  special  revelation,  and  chosen  this  method  of  com- 
municating its  mysteries  to  the  world.  We  do  not  claim  a  single 
new  idea.  How  could  we  do  so,  when  the  wisest  man  of  all  the  ages 
wrote,  "  There  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun,"  and  "  of  making 


xii  PREFACE. 

many  books  there  is  no  end."  This  certainly  was  prophetic.  It 
certainly  would  be  an  exhibition  of  consummate  arrogance  in  us  to 
assume  that  we  possessed  wisdom  superior  to  that  of  Solomon.  His 
wise  sayings  are  incomparable,  and  will  go  down  to  the  end  of  time 
as  the  best  commentary  ever  written  on  the  various  phases  of  human 
life.  He  drank  at  every  fountain,  and  was  well  able  to  judge  which 
were  the  right  ones  to  quench  the  insatiable  thirst  of  the  human 
soul.  Human  nature  is  the  same  to-day  that  it  was  then.  The  same 
influences  that  produced  a  Joseph  and  a  Daniel,  an  Absalom  and 
a  Haman,  bring  out  the  same  characters  to-day.  Like  influences 
produce  like  results.  Children  are  not  born  with  full  developed 
characters.  That  they  inherit  traits  from  their  parents  is  self-evident. 
It  is  the  training  and  influences  woven  into  the  thread  of  every-day 
life,  that  fixes  the  character  to  a  very  great  extent.  It  was  the  kiss 
of  a  mother  that  made  Benjamin  West  the  great  painter  he  after, 
wards  became.  When  the  mother  of  James  Harper  said  to  her  six- 
teen year  old  boy,  as  he  was  about  leaving  his  home  to  seek  his 
fortune,  "James  you've  got  good  blood  in  you ;  do  not  disgrace  it," 
the  corner-stone  of  the  great  house  of  Harper  Brothers,  of  Franklin 
Square,  New  York  was  laid  plumb. 

We  trust  that  the  purpose  of  our  work  will  be  discoverable  with- 
out severe  mental  effort.  There  are  so  many  young  men  in  every 
community  who  have  no  worthy  object  to  strive  for;  living  simply 
for  to-day;  spending  all  their  earnings  for  the  gratification  of  their 
baser  natures;  developing  the  lowest  propensities;  devoid  of  all 
aspirations  for  a  higher  and  better  manhood;  that  we  feel  con- 
strained  to  contribute  whatever  we  may  to  their  elevation.  If  what 
we  have  written  in  these  pages  shall  have  an  influence  for  good 
with  the  youth  of  the  country,  our  object  will  have  been  accom- 
plished. To  make  it  instrumental  for  the  greatest  good,  however, 
much  depends  upon  the  efforts  that  parents  will  make  in  addition 
thereto. 

With  this  brief  Preface,  we  lay  down  our  pen  with  the  sincere 
hope  that  our  labors  may,  in  some  measure,  be  rewarded,  by  accom- 
plishing some  good  wherever  our  little  book  goes.  If  some  path- 
ways are  made  brighter,  and  every  home  it  enters  made  happier,  we 
shall  be  more  than  satisfied. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Park  Place,  Davenport,  Iowa,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

PRELUDE,  ir 

A  Boy  Lost,    - 

Must  Have  a  Guide,  20 

THE  MISSING  HOST,  22 

"  Missing,  My  Son  I11-  "  Ten  Thousand  Dollars  Reward,'"  22 

The  New  Hampshire  Boy,  -  23 

Charlie  Rose,     - 

Prof.  Lieb's  Boy,  - 

Why  Boys  are  Stolen,  26 

THE  SCHEMES  OF  SWINDLERS,  27 

The  Minister's  Son,  -  27 

The  Clergyman  from  Illinois,     - 
Sharp  Men  are  Bitten, 

SOWING  AND  REAPING,      -  30 

Patiently  Waiting,    -  30 

Stick  to  Your  Business,  31 

Don't  Cut  the  Corners,    -  31 

Laying  the  Foundation, 

The  Fall  of  the  Pemberton  Mill,   - 

The  Davenport  Bridge, 

Character  Building, 

Admiral  Farragut  at  Ten  Years  of  Age,    -  34 

FORTUNE,      ....  36 

What  to  Do,  -  37 

Fortune  Telling,  38 

The  Astrologers,   - 

The  "Spirits,"-  4° 

The  Gypsies,  - 

The  Fortune  Teller,  42 

READING  FICTION,   -  43 

Dime  Novels,     -  44 

What  to  Read, 

How  the  Man  Went  to  the  Circus, 
Improving  Literature, 
What  Some  Boys  Read,   - 
Good  Books  to  Read,    - 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

HEALTH,  PAG^ 

Good  Living,                                                                                  -       -  54 

Cleanliness,  54 

The  Best  Medicine,                                                       -        -        -       -  55 

Beware  of  the  Doctors,    -  57 

The  Connecticut  Doctor's  Remedy,  -       -                                        -  59 

Invalid's  Retreat,                                                                   -       - .  60 

Getting  Up  in  the  Morning,        -  60 

How  to  Develop  Lung  Power,  61 

Ministers  vs.  Lawyers,         -       -                       62 

Advice,  63 

HABITS, 64 

A  Horrible  Death,    -  64 

Filthy  Habits,        -  65 

Good  Manners, gg 

Drees,  66 

HOW  TO  DESERVE  SUCCESS, 68 

Politeness,     •  68 

Two  Ways  of  Doing  the  Same  Thing,  -  68 

Hotel  Clerk,  -  69 

Please  Your  Employers,  -       -  70 

Make  Your  Employer's  Business  Yours,  -  71 

Pacific  Mills,  Lawrence,  Mass.,  72 

Put  On  the  Appearance  of  Business,  73 

Don't  be  Above  your  Business,      -  74 

Choice  of  Boarding  Houses, -  75 

HOW  TO  ENSURE  SUCCESS,      .........  76 

Pluck,         ...  76 

A  Sermon  in  a  Paragraph, ---77 

Waiting  for  the  Elevator,       ....  77 

Burned  His  Ship— Blew  Up  the  Bridge,  -  79 

Do  Not  Procrastinate,     •  79 

THE  BATTLE  OF  LIFE,                                                            -  80 

The  Conflict  is  Yours,  Are  Yon  Ready  for  the  Battle  ?        -        -  80 

Opposition,    -    '  80 

Every  One  must  Take  Care  of  His  Own  Head,    -  81 

General  Zachary  Taylor,     -- 81 

On  the  Voyage— Each  One  His  Own  Pilot,  -  82 

What  Every  Young  Man  must  Have,         ....                -  83 

Don't  Give  Up,  -  83 

Perseverance, -84 

How  John  Morrissey  went  to  Congress,       -  85 

Catching  the  Train, 85 


CONTENTS.  xv 

THE  BATTLE  OF  LIFE  (CONTINUED):  PAGK. 

$10,000  Lost!  $10,000  Won,  86 

How  We  Learned  to  Play  the  Organ,        -  86 

Experience  must  be  Paid  For,       -  91 

HOW  SOME  MEN  HAVE  SUCCEEDED, 92 

Economy  the  Secret, 92 

Emma  Abbott,      -  94 

Working  to  Win,       -  94 

Keep  oat  of  Debt,  -       96 

HINDRANCES  TO  A  SUCCESSFUL  CAREER,     ...  97 

Is  Poverty  a  Hindrance?      -  97 

Money  Well  Earned  Goes  the  Farthest,       -  98 

There  are  Many  Things  Money  Cannot  Buy,  -----  100 

BRAINS  AND  LABOR.    RESULT:  SUCCESS,        ...  101 

Brain  Power,         -  -      101 

The  Pathfinder,         -  101 

Want  a  Turnpike,         ...  -      102 

Born  Great,       -  103 

After  the  Bugs  and  Rocks,  -  -      103 

How  One  Man  Won,         -                                                                -  105 

MEN  WHO  STARTED  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE  LADDER,  -     108 

WHAT  BRINGS  HAPPINESS, 112 

Happiness  vs.  Gold,     -   .    -  -      112 

A  Millionaire's  Enjoyments,  -  114 

One  Wealthy  Lady's  Experience,      -       -  115 

Poor  Richard's  Advice, 116 

INDULGENCE  OF  APPETITE, 117 

Ruined  by  Whisky, 117 

"  Wanted-  A  Boy  to  Attend  Bar,"     -  119 

Temperance,      -       ....  121 

Tobacco  as  Vile  as  Whisky,       -  121 

MAGNITUDE  OF  TRIFLES, 124 

Trifles-Little  Things,         ...       -                       -       -  -      125 

The  Chicago  Fire,     -                              125 

A  City  Destroyed, 126 

Fourth  of  July  Time,       -               127 

Discovery  of  Steam, -  -      128 

Electricity— Its  Power, 129 


CONTENTS. 


HAPPY  HOMES,     ........... 

A  Wife,                                          ........  132 

Falling  in  Love,    ------               -       -       -       -  133 

Business  is  Business,       ....               ....  134 

The  Modern  Belle,        ..........  135 

Good  House-Keepers  are  a  Rarity,  136 

What  Iowa  Girls  are  Taught,     ........  138 

Unhappily  Mated,    -                        .......  139 

Some  of  the  Evidences  of  Conjugal  Felicity,         -  141 

Newly  Married  Couples,          -  144 

"  In  Ye  Olden  Time,    -                      .......  145 

There  is  Nothing  Too  Good  for  Man,    -  146 

A  Song  for  the  "  Hearth  and  Home,v        -    .  147 

ACTION!  ACTION!!  ACTION!!!     ......  148 

Talent  and  Ambition,  -  148 

Political  Honors  Unsatisfying,                                                       -  149 

EXAMPLES  OF  HEROISM,    .........  150 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,       .       -  150 

Florence  Nightingale,  -  152 

Every-Day  Heroes,    -        -  153 

WHAT  SHALL  I  LIVE  FOR?      ...                         -      -  154 

What  I  Live  For,  154 

DELUSIONS  OF  THE  AGE,  -      -            ......  156 

The  "Mirage,"  156 

Thirst,    -                                                                                            -  157 

Thirsting  for  Fame,  -  158 

Thirsting  for  Honors,  -  159 

PART  II.  —  PRACTICAL  BUSINESS  PRECEPTS,       -      -  161 

Integrity  of  Character,        ......               -  161 

Hon.  John  Fried!  ey's  Motto,  -  163 

Amos  Lawrence's  Way  of  Dealing  with  Customers,      -        -        -  163 

.     Hugh  Miller,  164 

Maxims  of  Successful  Men,        ........  164 

John  McDonogh's  Rules,  165 

Book-Keeping,  165 

The  Value  of  a  Commercial  Education,        -  166 

Advertise  Your  Business,    .....                ...  167 

Reserve  Power,  170 

LAND  SURVEYING  IN  THE  WEST,     ...  172 

System  Adopted  by  the  United  States  Government,  172 

Explanation  of  Diagrams,  174 

Diagrams  of  Sections,  showing  Sub-Divisions,  -        -  175 

Abbreviated  Descriptions  of  Sectional  Sub-Divisions,         -  176 


PRELUDE.V 


A    BOY   LOST  ! 

IN  September,  1878,  we  spent  a  few  days  with  a  farmer  residing 
upon  one  of  the  lofty  hills  of  the  "  Granite  State"— the  Switzerland 
of  America.  The  location  was  one  of  rare  beauty ;  admirable  for 
enjoying  a  view,  wonderfully  diversified,  charming,  sublime.  The 
harmonious  blending  of  mountain  and  valley,  lake  and  forest;  the 
cottages  of  the  farmers,  nestling  among  the  hills,  or  high  up  on 
some  lofty  eminence ;  the  gorgeous  hues  of  the  maples  and  other 
deciduous  trees  richer  in  color,  in  the  blending,  in  all  the  diversity 
of  shading  imaginable,  surpassing  the  highest  conception  of  the 
best  imitations  of  nature's  art-painting;  all  combined,  formed  a 
landscape  of  marvelous  attractions — perfectly  grand.  To  our  eyes 
unsurpassed ;  one  that  no  human  skill  could  transfer  to  canvas.  We 
are  inclined  to  believe  nature  has  not  duplicated  it. 

Looking  southward  from  our  location  down  across  well  cultivated 
fields,  were  the  grand  old  woods,  beyond  and  above  which  arose  a 
high  ridge  of  hills  sweeping  around  on  a  half  circle  east  and  west, 
where  they  terminated  abruptly,  leaving  gateways  wide  open, 
through  which  came  to  view  villages  with  their  church  spires,  and 
the  dwellings  of  the  farmers. 

Looking  westward,  still  more  remote  arose  other  ranges  of  hills, 
covered  with  the  native  forest.  The  Connecticut  river — with  Bel- 
lows Falls,  eleven  miles  away,  the  roar  of  which  could  be  distinctly 
heard — flowed  between  the  two  States,  and  beyond  which  towered 
ridge  after  ridge,  each  succeeding  one  growing  loftier,  until  lost  in 
the  famous  Green  Mountains  of  Vermont,  fifty  miles  distant. 

One  who  has  never  witnessed  a  New  England  sunset  cannot  con- 
ceive the  gorgeousness  of  the  scene,  here  in  its  glory.  Directly 
south  loomed  up  the  lofty  head  of  old  Monadnack,  forty  miles  away. 
Beacon  fires  on  a  Fourth  of  July  night  have  here  been  lighted,  flash- 
ing their  smiles  upon  Bunker  Hill  monument,  seventy-five  miles  to 
the  southward.  To  the  north-east,  one  hundred  miles  distant,  we  al- 
most seemed  to  see  the  White  Mountains  up  among  the  clouds. 
2 


18  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

Having  scanned  the  most  striking  objects  in  the  distance,  we  will 
look  at  those  less  prominent.  A  little  way  to  the  east  is  a  little 
lakelet  surrounded  l>y  hills,  its  margin  skirted  with  forest  trees,  its 
surface  .placid,  its  waters  cold  and  deep.  Only  one  person,  a  boy, 
who  stole  out  from  his  home  on  a  Sunday  afternoon  to  have  a  skate 
on  the  newly  formed  ice,  was  ever  known  to  have  been  drowned  in 
its  waters.  The  boy's  hat  revealed  his  sad  fate.  Looking  south- 
west over  a  forest  of  evergreen  trees  on  a  plain,  is  a  little  country 
village  with  its  white  cottages.  Just  beyond  this  another  lakelet, 
exceedingly  beautiful.  For  more  than  a  century  it  has  been  a  favor- 
ite resort  for  people  near  and  far  away.  The  late  Rev.  Dr.  Vinton, 
of  New  York  city,  and  family,  spent  many  a  summer  vacation,  en- 
joying the  hospitality  of  a  farmer's  home  near  by,  and  riding  or 
fishing  daily  in  its  waters.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  facts,  is, 
that  of  the  many  thousands  who  have  here  bathed,  fished,  sailed  and 
skated,  not  one  has  ever  been  known  to  have  been  drowned. 

We  now  come  to  the  place  and  point  of  our  story.  The  home  that 
now  affords  us  a  delightful  resting  place  superseded  the  original 
log-cabin,  built  when  the  country  was  a  "  howling  wilderness."  The 
entire  region  was  then  covered  with  a  dense  forest,  only  a  little  clear- 
ing had  been  made  around  the  homes  of  the  early  pioneers.  There 
were  no  roads,  except  foot  paths,  or  "  Indian  trails."  The  guide 
boards,  were  "blazed"  trees.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago  a  man  and  his  wife  and  a  little  boy  named  Jacob,  had  their 
home  in  the  cabin.  The  father,  when  time  permitted,  was  cutting 
away  the  forest  to  broaden  his  fields  for  cultivation,  to  grow  his 
grain  and  vegetables. 

One  pleasant  afternoon  the  little  boy  asked  his  mother  if  he  might 
go  out  and  see  his  father  chop  down  the  great  trees.  The  mother 
said  he  could  go,  and  come  in  with  his  father  at  night.  When  the 
day's  labor  was  over,  the  father  returned  to  his  cabin.  The  mother, 
not  seeing  her  little  boy  with  him,  asked,  "Where  is  Jacob ?"  The 
father  did  not  know;  had  not  seen  him.  Instantly  it  flashed  upon 
them  that  Jacob  was  lost.  Hurriedly  they  went  out  to  look  for  him. 
They  called  and  searched — searched  until  night's  sable  drapery  set- 
tled down  upon  the  black  forest,  He  was  not  found.  They  retired 
to  their  lonely  cabin.  It  was  very  dark  within.  The  sunlight,  the 
light  of  that  home,  the  little  sunbeam  was  not  there.  The  supper 
had  been  prepared  and  was  on  the  table.  There  lay  the  little  pewter 


PRELUDE.  19 

plate;  there  stood  the  little  chair.  Each  whispered  "missing." 
The  rude  playthings  upon  the  floor  whispered  "missing."  The 
supper  was  untouched;  how  could  they  eat!  All  night  long  they 
watched.  How  could  they  close  their  eyes  in  sleep  when  the 
fate  of  little  Jacob  was  weighing  them  down,  crushing  out  their 
fondest  hopes,  centered  and  bound  up  in  their  little  idol !  In  vain 
did  they  pile  the  wood  upon  the  lire,  or  set  a  light  in  the  window, 
hoping  to  attract  his  weary  feet  in  their  wanderings  homeward.  In 
vain  did  they  peer  out  into  the  pitchy  darkness,  or  call  "  Jacob ! 
Jacob !  O,  Jacob !"  In  vain  did  they  listen  to  hear  the  childish  ciy : 
"  Papa  or  for  mamma  to  come  to  me  quick."  No  responses  came  but 
the  doleful  "  hoot"  of  some  great  owl,  or  the  growl  of  bears,  for  they 
were  dwellers  in  the  woods.  The  harrowing  and  most  unwelcome 
thoughts  would  come  to  them.  "Has  he  been  killed  by  the  bears? 
Are  they  growling  over  his  bones  with  whetted  appetites  for  more 
human  blood  ?" 

The  long  night  passed  slowly  away.  Early  in  the  morning  light 
•the  father  hastens  to  the  nearest  neighbors,  a  mile  away,  to  tell  of 
their  great  distress.  The  news  was  sent  speedily  to  other  neighbors, 
and  with  alacrity  and  sympathy  all  responded.  The  entire  day  was 
spent  in  the  most  vigorous  and  careful  search.  Not  a  trace  had 
been  discovered.  Another  night  of  fearful  forebodings  drove  sleep 
from  the  disconsolate  family.  The  second  day  dawned.  Great  num- 
bers came  to  join  in  the  hunt.  When  the  sun  again  went  down 
behind  the  green  hills  of  Vermont,  no  tidings  had  been  brought  to 
the  sorrowing  parents.  Not  a  foot-print  had  been  seen.  The  night 
set  in ;  the  deepest  gloom  overshadowed  that  humble  cottage — black 
darkness. 

The  morning  of  the  third  day  came  at  last.  It  is  said  that  five 
hundred  men  came  that  day  to  join  in  the  hunt,  the  news  having 
spread  to  the  more  thickly  settled  neighborhoods.  They  were  ear- 
nest men,  and  they  engaged  in  the  search  with  a  determination  to 
find  the  boy  or  learn  something  of  his  fate.  The  day  wore  away, 
and  all  had  returned  from  the  hunt,  the  problem  unsolved — a  mys- 
tery of  mysteries.  All  were  preparing  to  return  to  their  homes, 
having  abandoned  all  hopes  of  finding  the  boy;  further  search  was 
declared  hopeless  and  useless.  The  mother  learned  the  decision 
they  had  made,  and  in  almost  frantic  agony  she  came  to  the  door 
and  said  that  if  she  only  knew  that  little  Jacob  was  dead  she  would 


20  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

be  satisfied;  but  the  terrible  thought  that  he  might  be  still  alive, 
sick,  dying  of  hunger  and  cold,  alone,  with  no  kind  hand  to  soothe 
his  last  moments,  or  to  listen  to  his  little  sad  story  of  his  being  lost, 
and  how  he  had  wandered  so  far  away  from  his  home  to  die  alone 
in  the  woods,  was  greater  than  she  could  endure.  Brave  men  wept 
who  never  shed  a  tear  before.  It  moved  them  to  activity.  It  was 
proposed  that  one  more  effort  should  be  made  at  once,  although 
night  was  near  at  hand.  They  formed  into  companies,  each  taking 
separate  directions.  Signals  were  agreed  upon,  and  quickly  they 
disappeared  into  the  woods.  A  few  remained  to  console  the  mother. 
In  breathless  silence  they  stood  around  the  door,  hoping  to  hear  a 
signal.  At  last  the  echo  of  a  distant  gun  away  down  by  the  lake 
reverberated  up  through  the  woods.  It  was  a  relief.  A  trace,  a 
shoe  or  hat,  or  his  bones,  perhaps,  have  been  found.  Anxiously  they 
listen,  hoping  against  hope,  to  hear  another  signal.  It  comes,  he  is 
found !  "  Is  he  alive  or  dead  ?"  In  breathless  silence  all  were  eager 
to  hear.  Hearts  almost  ceased  to  beat,  so  great  was  the  intense  4 
anxiety,  fearing  they  might  not  hear  the  last  signal.  It  came  — 
"Jacob  is  alive!"  The  great  old  woods  reechoed  the  gladsome  re- 
frain: ''Jacob  is  alive!"  u Is  alive!"  "Alive!"  reverberated  through 
the  valleys  and  over  the  hill-tops.  Companies  far  awray  caught  the 
echoes  as  one  company  after  another  passed  the  gladsome  tidings 
along:  "Jacob  is*  found."  The  old  woods  rang  as  never  before, 
from  five  hundred  voices  in  glad  shouts  of  joy.  Gun  after  gun  an- 
swered other  guns  in  carrying  the  news  to  the  most  distant.  The 
victorious  party  soon  came  in  sight,  bearing  triumphantly  the  little 
hero  on  their  shoulders,  seated  on  a  hastily  constructed  "chair" 
made  of  poles  and  evergreen  boughs,  and  presented  him  alive  and 
well  to  the  overjoyed  mother.  There  was  joy  in  that  home  that 
night. 

MUST   HAVE   A  GUIDE. 

People  unaccustomed  to  travel  in  our  country  when  they  are  about 
to  start  on  their  first  journey,  procure  the  latest  guide-book  and  con- 
sult it  carefully  before  starting,  and  then  take  it  along  with  them  so 
as  to  be  sure  that  they  do  not  make  any  mistakes,  or  get  on  a  wrong 
train,  to  be  carried  in  a  wrong  direction.  We  have  seen  persons  al- 
most frantic  for  fear  that  they  would  make  a  mistake.  Every  time 
the  train  stopped  they  would  hop  up  and  ask  the  conductor,  or 
brakeman,  or  the  passengers,  "  Is  this  Albany?" 


PRELUDK.  ->\ 

Now  a  journey  of  a  few  days  is  nothing  in  comparison  to  a  jour- 
ney for  life.  Yet  how  heedless  and  unconcerned  many  young  men 
are  about  it.  "  They  don't  care,"  When  they  start  out  on  that  track 
they  are  on  a  down  grade,  and  every  turn  increases  their  momen- 
tum, faster  and  faster.  Like  the  engineer  who  neglected  to  apply 
the  brakes  in  time,  he  lost  control  of  his  train,  and  all  went  to  des- 
truction. We  see  young  men  with  noble  talents,  going  from  homes 
where  everything  has  been  done  that  could  be  done  for  them,  to  tit 
them  for  honorable  positions  in  society,  unheeding  the  plead- 
ings of  a  kind  father,  the  tears  of  a  devoted  and  anxious  mother 
and  a  loving  sister,  all  to  no  purpose.  They  are  on  the  down  grade, 
and  all  the  signals  and  alarm  bells  are  warning  them  of  the  fearful 
risks  they  are  running,  and  the  impending  dangers  just  ahead. 
Blind  and  deaf  to  them  all,  they  rush  on  in  their  mad  career  to  swift 
destruction.  Many  a  father  would  give  all  he  is  worth,  thousands 
of  dollars  even;  yea,  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  if  he  had  it,  if  his 
son  would  only  come  back  to  the  home  he  has  left.  Many  a  father  has 
bowed  his  head  in  shame  over  the  downward  course  of  a  wayward 
son,  and  gone  down  to  the  grave  before  his  time  in  the  deepest  grief. 
Some  have  had  the  sad  experience  of  standing  over  the  grave  of  a 
son  as  a  gentleman  did  in  France.  Read  what  he  said  as  he  stood 
at  the  grave  of  his  profligate  sou : 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  father,  in  a  voice  full  of  emotion,  "the 
body  before  me  was  that  of  my  son.  He  was  a  young  man  in  the 
prime  of  life,  with  a  sound  constitution,  which  ought  to  have  in- 
sured him  a  hundred  years.  But  misconduct,  drunkenness,  and  de- 
bauchery, of  the  most  disgraceful  kind,  brought  him  in  the  flower 
of  his  age  to  the  ditch  which  you  see  before  you.  Let  this  be  an  ex- 
ample to  you  and  to  your  children.  Let  us  go  hence." 

We  have  said  what  we  have  in  our  PRELUDE,  with  the  hope  of  ar- 
resting the  attention  of  every  young  man  into  whose  hands  this 
little  book  shall  fall,  and  that  it  may  be  a  True  Guide  to  him  every 
day  as  long  as  he  shall  live,  a  guide  to  the  only  pathway  to  prosper- 
ity and  happiness — to  heaven. 


THE  MISSING  HOST. 

"MISSING,   MY   SON!" — "TEN  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  REWARD." 

There  have  been  hundreds, thousands  of  boys  lost  since  "Jacob's" 
time.  Yes,  and  only  a  few  have  ever  been  found.  Boys  and  young 
men  are  being  lost  every  day  in  the  year,  and  every  year  "  Missing ! 
my  son!"  could  be  posted  on  every  street  corner  in  every  town  and 
every  city  in  the  land.  No  five  hundred  men  to  look  up  each  lost 
bo}r.  Very  few  are  ever  found — many  have  wandered  far  away,  be- 
come wrecks,  and  have  no  desire  to  be  found,  or  when  found  to  be 
carried  back  to  their  father's  house.  What  an  army  it  would  make 
if  all  the  lost  and  "  missing"  young  men  were  placed  in  a  line ;  no 
division  of  Gen.  Grant's  army  would  have  equaled  it  in  length. 

Many  young  men  leave  their  homes  so  confident  in  all  their 
childish  innocence.  Ignorant  of  the  great  outside  world,  so  differ- 
ent from  the  little  country  home  where  they  know  every  man,  wo- 
man and  child ;  where  they  perhaps  conceived  the  world  swung 
around  their  homes,  and  that  was  the  centre. 

The  story  of  our  Prelude  is  a  true  one,  and  our  object  in  giving  it 
a  place  in  this  book  is  for  an  illustration,  to  make  clear  and  strong, 
so  that  no  young  man  shall  mistake,  our  aim,  or  his  way. 

Boys  who  run  away  from  home,  we  do  not  expect  to  reach ;  but 
we  hope  to  gain  the  ear  of  many  who  go  away,  because  they  must 
go  if  they  are  to  accomplish  any  good  in  the  world  for  themselves 
or  anybody  else ;  and  also  those  who  are  compelled  by  necessity  to 
"  strike  out."  It  is  a  momentous  period  in  any  young  man's  life, 
when  the  time  comes  to  bid  adieu  to  his  home,  to  go  out  to  seek  his 
fortune,  to  be  his  own  pilot;  to  hew  out  his  own  fortune.  It  is  a 
trackless  pathway  to  him,  and  every  step  is  new.  Only  one  step  of 
the  way  can  be  seen — only  one  at  a  time.  The  curtain  reveals  no 
faster  and  no  more.  No  two  steps  are  alike ;  each  day  the  scenes 
are  shifted.  If  you  make  a  mistake  you  cannot  correct  it,  or  rub  it 
out  and  commence  anew.  The  chariot  wheels  of  your  car  are  run- 
ning at  the  velocity  of  seventy  miles  (heart  beats)  to  the  minute,  day 
and  night ;  and  there  is  only  one  stopping  place — that  comes  when 
the  little  engine  within  you  stops  pumping  life's  crimson  blood 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  23 

through  your  veins.  So  that  every  mistake  you  make  is  so  much 
time  lost  that  cannot  be  made  up — no  calling  back  lost  time.  The 
web  of  life  runs  right  on,  and  if  you  fail  to  weave  in  the  woof  as  it 
passes,  it  will  not  be  filled.  "  O,  weave  it  well."  We  have  seen  so 
many  unfortunate  young  men ;  so  many  who  have  made  sad  failures, 
that  we  have  wished  that  we  had  a  trumpet  through  which  we  could 
sound  the  notes  of  alarm  in  the  ears  of  every  young  man  in  the 
country,  before  they  start  out  from  home.  Little  do  they  know  of 
the  dangers  that  will  assail  them  on  the  first  day  they  shall  com- 
mence to  act  for  themselves.  They  little  know  of  the  hungry 
wolves  in  sheep's  clothing  ready  to  pounce  on  them  at  the  first  op- 
portunity. 

THE  NEW   HAMPSHIRE   BOY. 

A  young  man  left  his  home  in  New  Hampshire  for  Boston.  It 
was  his  first  ride  on  a  railroad.  You  would  have  known  him  from 
all  the  other  passengers,  by  the  way  he  sat  on  his  seat,  by  the  way 
he  looked  at  everybody,  and  at  everything  in  the  car  or  outside.  We 
can  tell  a  new  passenger  on  his  first  ride  on  the  cars  every  time, 
without  his  speaking  a  word.  At  the  depot  at  Boston  there  were  a 
score  just  waiting  for  him.  They  knew  he  was  on  that  train.  Only 
one  was  in  time  to  welcome  him,  one  was  enough.  How  glad  he 
was  to  see  him.  He  grasped  his  hand  with  all  the  cordiality  of 
"  my  long  lost  brother."  He  took  his  satchel  to  carry.  Would  go 
with  him  any  where  he  wanted  to  go;  and  find  him  a  boarding 
house.  Or  if  he  preferred,  would  show  him  right  up  to  a  tip-top 
house  where  "  /  stop."  Of  course  he  was  glad  to  go  right  there. 
Such  a  warm  hearty  reception  was  what  he  had  not  expected.  He 
was  just  waiting  for  a  chance  to  declare  his  gratitude  for  all  this  at- 
tention. He  had  to  exclaim  several  times,  "  How  lucky  I  am  to 
have  met  you  right  at  the  depot."  "  I  felt  a  little  timid  about  com- 
ing down  alone  where  all  were  strangers."  "First  time  in  my  life 
I  was  ever  so  far  from  home."  "  Father  told  me  to  be  careful  who 
I  went  with."  "  I  suppose  there  are  some  men  that  would  steal  a 
fellow's  pocket  book  if  they  could  get  a  chance."  "  I  am  so  glad  I 
met  you  right  there." 

The  trap  was  not  set  for  naught.  The  "bait"  took.  He  is  a  vic- 
tim. Would  he  like  to  see  the  sights  of  a  great  city  ?  "  I  don't  care 
if  I  do."  After  supper  they  saunter  out;  the  nice  young  man  takes 


34  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

the  arm  of  the  country  youth.  They  stop  in  front  of  one  of  the  gilded 
palaces.  It  is  brilliantly  lighted;  the  doors,  with  rich  stained 
glass  panels,  hang  on  compound  hinges,  that  swing  both  ways, 
in  or  out.  Strains  of  music  float  out  on  the  evening  air.  "Would 
he  like  to  step  in  ?"  "  Do  they  let  a  feller  in  there  who  does  not  have 
no  ticket?"  "O,  yes;  those  who  are  acquainted  are  allowed  to  take 
in  a  friend  if  he  looks  pretty  well."  (Flattery.)  "I  don't  care  if  I 
do  go  in." 

The  door  swings  in  for  them.  The  splendor  of  the  costly  chan- 
deliers, with  thousands  of  glass  pendants  flashing  a  million  rainbows. 
The  great  mirrors — all  the  walls  are  mirrors — multiplying  the  guests 
many  fold  to  his  eyes.  "  I  wonder!"  is  the  extent  of  his  expletives. 
He  is  simply  bewildered.  He  is  invited  to  take  a  seat.  He  sits 
down  on  a  richly  stuffed  chair,  which  yields  so  readily  to  his  weight 
that  he  is  frightened.  He  is  assured  no  harm  is  done,  "  they  are 
made  that  way."  Would  he  not  take  a  glass  of  lemonade  ?  "  I  pay 
for  it;  you  are  my  guest.  It  is  a  custom  with  me  to  always  treat  a 
stranger  on  his  first  visit  to  our  city." 

Soon  a  young  man  approaches  and  announces  that  "  the  drawing 
of  the  grand  prixe  of  $50,000  is  to  come  off  in  a  few  minutes;  if 
you  wish  to  see  it,  gentlemen,  please  walk  up  stairs;  it  is  free." 
"Would  you  like  to  see  the  drawing?  $50,000  is  a  big  pile."  "I 
don't  care  if  I  do." 

Up  stairs  a  large  hall  magnificently  fitted  up,  astonishes  the  coun- 
try lad  beyond  language  to  express.  The  ticket  office  is  open  for 
the  next  grand  drawing.  Here  are  tables  at  which  are  seated  men 
playing  cards  for  money,  and  various  other  devices.  They  watch 
the  game  and  see  how  fast  money  changes  hands.  A  rough  looking 
fellow  tries  his  hand.  He  just  sweeps  the  board  every  time.  The 
pilot  begins  to  warm  up,  and  proposes  to  try  his  hand  at  the  game. 
He  puts  his  hand  in  his  pocket  to  draw  his  money.  "  I  declare  if  I 
have  not  left  my  pocket  book  at  the  hotel,  in  my  trunk.  I  just  want 
to  try  my  hand  with  these  fellows  once.  If  I  can't  scoop  them  I  am 
greatly  mistaken.  By  the  way,  if  you  have  a  little  money,  fifty  ort 
one  hundred  dollars,  I  would  like  to  borrow  it  until  we  get  back  to 
the  hotel.  If  you  have  no  objection,  I  will  give  you  half  the  profits." 
"  Of  course  I  will.  Let  you  have  all  I  have  got."  He  hands  over 
seventy-five  dollars,  with  the  remark,  "  That  is  the  first  money  I  ever 
earned.  I  would  let  you  have  more  if  I  had  it.  It  took  twenty-five 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  25 

dollars  to  buy  these  clothes,  and  then  I  had  to  pay  for  my  ticket." 
At  first  the  game  goes  well,  and  he  is  delighted.  The  seventy-five 
dollars  has  doubled.  He  gets  excited,  thirty-seven  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  made  quick  for  him.  It  took  him  nearly  four  months  at  home 
to  earn  so  much.  The  play  goes  on,  and  they  are  beaten.  The  last 
five  dollars  is  staked  and  lost.  The  pilot  says,  "  I  was  a  little  care- 
less or  I  should  not  have  lost.  I  see  just  where  I  made  the  mistake. 
I  shall  try  this  over  again.  I  believe  in  the  old  saying,  to  '  look  for 
your  money  where  you  lose  it.1  Well,  its  no  matter,  its  my  loss ; 
you  are  all  right.  I  will  return  the  seventy-five  as  soon  as  we  get  to 
the  hotel.  Perhaps  we  had  better  go,  its  getting  a  little  late.'' 

The  door  now  swings  out  for  them.  They  proceed  down  street  a 
few  blocks,  when  all  at  once  the  pilot  exclaims,  "  There,  I  forgot  to 
mail  a  letter;  just  wait  a  minute  and  I  will  run  around  the  corner 
and  drop  it  in  the  box,  and  come  right  back."  The  gentleman  from 
the  country  waited  on  the  corner — waited  a  long  while,  waited  so 
long  that  a  policeman  waited  upon  him  to  the  lock-up.  Not  a  dol- 
lar of  his  hard  earnings  for  a  whole  year's  toil  was  left. 

Was  not  his  experience  bitter,  very  bitter.  It  is  only  one  case  out 
of  a  hundred  that  is  played  every  day  in  the  year  on  young  men 
right  from  the  country. 

CHARLIE   ROSS. 

Everybody  has  heard  of  the  stealing  of  little  Charlie  Ross,  and  ot 
the  fortune  the  father  has  spent  in  vain  endeavor  to  find  him.  More 
than  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  has  so  been  spent,  and  the  father 
is  still  looking,  anxiously  looking  for  his  darling  boy.  In  his  ef- 
forts to  find  him,  he  found  many  other  lost  boys,  and  returned  them 
to  their  parents.  His  own  he  cannot  find. 

PROF.  LIEB'S  BOY. 

Prof.  Lieb,  a  successful  teacher  of  music,  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota, 
while  residing  at  Quincy,  Illinois,  had  a  beautiful  little  boy  stolen 
in  broad  day  light  in  front  of  his  house.  For  more  than  ten  years 
he  has  been  hunting  for  him,  has  spent  thousands  of  dollars  in  trav- 
eling and  in  advertising,  and  yet  "  no  tidings"  come  to  him  of  his 
missing  boy.  As  long  as  he  lives  he  will  look  for  him. 


26  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

WHY   BOYS  ARE   STOLEN. 

Sixteen  years  ago  a  fatherless  boy,  nine  years  of  age,  by  the  name 
of  Samuel  Wasgatt,  was  by  his  uncle  placed  temporarily  in  the 
"  Home  for  Little  "Wanderers"  at  Boston,  Mass.  Shortly  after  a  gen- 
tlemanly appearing  man  applied  at  the  Home  for  a  boy  to  adopt, 
promising  a  good  home  and  fine  treatment.  Samuel  was  chosen  be- 
cause of  his  bright  and  active  appearance.  The  gentleman  left  his 
name  and  residence.  Sixteen  years  passed,  and  not  the  slighest  clue 
had  been  obtained  either  of  the  man  or  the  boy,  although  the  most 
dilligent  search  had  been  made  to  find  them.  Last  July  the  uncle 
received  a  letter  from  London,  England,  written  by  the  long  lost  boy 
Samuel.  The  man  who  took  him  from  the  Home  was  a  traveling 
showman.  He  had  trained  Samuel  for  an  actor;  had  treated  him 
most  inhumanly;  whipped  the  flesh  off  his  arms  literally  in  pieces, 
leaving  cavities  where  they  were  cut  out  that  will  go  with  him  to 
his  grave.  He  had  made  him  do  the  most  daring  of  feats,  unequaled 
in  the  world ;  flying  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  through  the  air,  fifty 
feet  above  the  stage,  where  the  slightest  accident  would  be  instant 
death.  He  passed  the  lad  off  as  a  girl  from  the  start.  His  stage 
name  was  "  Lulu."  He  traveled  the  first  two  years  in  this  country, 
and  to  cover  their  tracks  changed  Samuel's  mime  fourteen  times,  and 
-dressed  him  all  the  time  as  a  girl.  They  traveled  fourteen  years  on 
the  continent,  visiting  all  the  great  cities  of  Europe.  Samuel  was 
not  Allowed  to  communicate  with  his  friends,  or  know  anything  but 
his  master's  brutal  orders.  At  last  he  escaped,  only  to  learn  he  had 
been  held  by  no  contract  or  obligation,  and  for  more  than  three 
years  after  he  had  been  of  age.  He  advertised  for  his  mother  in  the 
New  York  Herald,  and  she  learned  of  her  long  lost  boy.  She  was 
residing  in  our  city,  the  wife  of  Leonard  Rice*,  Esq. 

Samuel  was  anxious  to  see  his  mother,  and  sent  her  a  draft  for 
five  hundred  dollars  to  pay  her  expenses  to  visit  him  in  London. 
The  developments  to  her  were  so  strange  and  startling,  that  it  was 
with  no  little  degree  of  hesitancy  that  she  undertook  the  trip,  even 
after  money  was  received,  fearing  that  there  was  some  mistake  about 
it ;  and  not  until  she  saw  him  face  to  face  was  she  convinced  it  was 
her  lost  boy  Samuel.  She  is  now  spending  the  winter  with  him  at 
his  own  home  in  London.  This  is  the  history  of  one  lost  and  stolen 
boy  who  has  been  found.  Only  one  of  a  hundred  that  are  ever 
found  or  heard  from  who  have  mysteriously  disappeared. 


THE  SCHEMES  OF  SWLNDLEKS. 

THE  MINISTER'S  SON. 

A  young  man,  the  son  of  a  minister,  was  sent  by  his  father,  to 
Chicago,  with  a  load  of  wheat  to  sell.  He  did  not  return.  The 
father  became  alarmed.  He  visited  the  city,  and  vainly  looked  for 
his  "missing"  son.  The  father  abandoned  everything,  spent  all  his 
time  and  money  to  find  his  boy.  He  traveled  from  city  to  city,  from 
town  to  village.  If  he  had  an  opportunity  to  preach  he  would  do 
so,  and  at  the  close  of  his  sermon  tell  of  his  lost  son,  hoping  some 
one  somewhere  would  know  of  his  boy.  He  traveled  up  and  down 
the  earth,  everywhere  he  had  the  least  hopes  of  hearing  of  him. 
After  many  months  of  diligent  search  throughout  the  great  North- 
West,  he  went  to  California,  and  whenever  he  had  an  opportunity  to 
preach,  he  did  so,  always  closing  with  the  story  of  his  missing  son. 
At  last  the  lost  son  happened  to  be  present,  and  heard  his  father  tell 
of  his  agony  and  suffering  over  the  loss  of  his  son.  It  was  too  much 
for  the  boy.  He  could  not  hide  longer  from  his  father.  He  told  his 
father  the  whole  story,  how  he  had  sold  the  wheat,  and  got  the 
money  for  it,  and  was  allured  into  a  gambling  den,  lost  the  money, 
and  was  ashamed  to  return  home;  so  he  sold  the  team  and  "here 
I  am."  The  father  only  replies,  "  Enough !  Say  no  more ;  let  us  go 
home." 

A  young  man  on  the  cars,  between  Davenport  and  Chicago,  was 
recently  beaten  out  of  ninety  dollars  by  three-card  monte-men.  He 
was  old  enough  to  have  known  better.  You  may  think  you  are  smart, 
but  you  will  find  others  just  as  smart — perhaps  a  little  smarter. 

THE  CLERGYMAN  FROM   ILLINOIS. 

Every  day  in  the  year  the  papers  sound  the  alarm,  "Look  out!" 
"Beware!"  They  simply  pass  on  into  the  very  jawrs  of  the  sharks 
who  grow  fat  on  the  game  in  spite  of  all  the  daily  warnings.  Ministers 
are  just  as  liable  to  be  "  roped  in"  as  a  "  verdant"  from  the  country. 

A  good  old  Presbyterian  minister  of  Illinois  went  to  New  York 
city  recently,  where  he  was  gladly  welcomed  by  some  nice  young 
men.  Learning  he  was  a  minister  they  took  special  interest  in 
showing  him  around  and  warning  him  against  a  very  wicked  cl;i>< 


28  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

of  "  stool  pigeons,"  who  were  always  laying  around  depots  and  ho- 
tels ready  to  welcome  strangers,  pretending  to  be  philanthropists,  to 
protect  new  comers  from  being  swindled,  and  to  direct  them  to  suit- 
able boarding-houses.  The  good  old  minister  was  very  glad  of  the 
timely  warning;  that  they  were  really  engaged  in  a  noble  Christian 
work.  He  was  unaware  of  the  "  stool  pigeon"  system,  which  the 
devil  had  so  thoroughly  perfected  to  lead  innocent  young  men  to 
ruin.  He  should  go  home  and  preach  a  sermon  on  the  subject  to 
his  young  men,  warning  them  to  not  come  to  so  wicked  a  city  as 
New  York. 

"  Would  you  like  to  see  how  one  of  their  games  is  played  to  rob 
unsophisticated  young  men  of  their  money."  "  Certainly,  I  would 
be  very  glad  to  learn,  now  I  am  here,  all  I  can  about  these  '  human 
sharks.'"  "  If  you  will  just  step  around  the  corner  we  shall  be 
pleased  to  show  you  how  one  of  their  tricks  is  successfully  played 
every  time  on  the  unsuspecting."  He  steps  around.  A  few  green- 
backs are  needed  to  illustrate  the  game.  The  minister  lays  down 
the  money;  he  sees  the  game  played — and  played  well.  He  is  satis- 
fied with  the  skill  with  which  it  is  performed,  but  awfully  chagrined 
when  he  finds  that  he  t»  UK-  ri<:tim  of  the  wicked  young  men  he  was 
warned  to  steer  clear  of. 

SHARP   MEN   ARE   BITTEN. 

The  devil  has  just  as  sharp  and  shrewd  men  in  his  employ  as 
there  are  in  the  world. 

A  bank  officer  of  our  city  was  once  taken  in  by  a  sharper  in  Chi- 
cago so  nicely  that  he  did  not  know  it,  until  he  was  a  victim.  He 
boasts  at  home  of  being  "  sharp"  and  "  keen." 

A  very  common  way  to  draw  out  a  victim  is  this:  A  stranger  will 
step  up  to  a  gentleman  and  offer  his  hand,  and  in  the  most  bland 
and  familiar  way  say,  "  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Jones  *  Glad  to  see 
you.  When  did  you  come  to  town  ?"  "  Excuse  me,  sir,  my  name  is 
Smith."  "  O,  yes,  I  know  it  is  Smith,  you  are  from" "  Daven- 
port, Iowa."  "  Yes.  Davenport  is  a  beautiful  city.  By  the  way  who 
is  your  Congressman  now?"  "Price."  "What,  Price?"  "Hon. 
Hiram  Price."  "  You  don't  say ;  why  Hiram  is  an  own  uncle  of  mine ; 
he  is  a  smart  man  if  I  do  say  it.  I  ought  to  go  down,  and  see 
uncle  Price;  he  has  invited  me  repeatedly  to  make  him  a  visit  The 
fact  of  it  is  I  am  doing  too  much  business;  much  more  than  I  ought 


KENT "8  NEW  COMMENTARY.  29 

to  do.  I  don't  have  any  time  to  visit  iny  old  father  even.  It  is  all 
wrong.  By  the  way,  Mr.  Smith,  when  do  you  return  V"  "  I  go  home 
on  the  10  p.  M.  train."  "  I  have  a  good  mind  to  rim  down  to  Dav- 
enport with  you  to-night.  Can  just  as  well  go  to-night  as  any  time. 
I  believe  I  will  go  if  I  can  arrange  my  business.  I  have  a  car  load 
of  horses,  blooded  stock,  coming  in  from  the  north-west  to  send  to 
Boston.  If  I  can  get  them  transferred  to  the  Michigan  Central  in 
time,  I  believe  I  will  go.  Perhaps  I  could  buy  a  car  load  of  horses 
at  Davenport,  and  make  expenses."  He  was  at  the  train  on  time. 
He  engaged  a  double  berth,  and  very  generously  offered  Mr.  Smith 
the  privilege  of  enjoying  it  with  him  gratis.  Two  minutes  before 
the  train  started  in  rushed  a  man  all  out  of  breath  to  collect  "  back 
charges"  on  that  car  load  of  blooded  stock.  The  sharper  apologises 
for  neglecting  to  have  called  and  settled  the  bill  at  the  freight  office. 
He  has  not  money  enough,  but  plenty  of  drafts ;  one  of  five  hundred 
dollars,  one  of  five  thousand  dollars.  The  collector  couldn't  make 
the  change.  Mr.  Smith  is  asked  if  he  couldn't  cash  a  five  hundred 
dollar  draft.  No,  he  had  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  in  cur- 
rency. The  bell  is  ringing  for  the  train  to  move.  The  sharper  says 
to  Mr.  Smith,  "  Here  are  drafts  on  the  Davenport  National  Bank  for 
five  thousand — Price's  bank  you  know — if  you  will  allow  me  to  take 
your  currency  I  will  give  you  the  draft  to  hold  for  security  until  we 
reach  Davenport,  and  then  you  can  have  it  cashed,  take  out  the  amount 
and  give  me  the  balance."  Mr.  Smith  hands  over  the  currency.  The 
sharper  wanted  to  say  "  good  bye  to  an  old  friend  outside,"  and  that 
was  the  last  time  Mr.  Smith  saw  the  Hon.  Hiram  Price's  nephew. 
He  found  his  draft  was  "  bogus"  when  he  offered  it  to  the  bank. 

Similar  games  are  played  every  day  in  the  year  upon  strangers, 
with  variations  to  suit  circumstances.  Sometimes  three  or  more  go 
for  one  man ;  each  one  has  a  special  part  to  play.  The  first  man  will 
find  out  name,  home,  business,  &c.,  then  a  "  trap"  is  prepared,  and 
the  kind  of  "  bait"  to  set  it  with.  Another  will  drive  in  the  game. 
The  last  man  takes  the  money.  Although  the  papers  daily  publish 
accounts  of  similar  swindling  operations,  and  the  police  stand  at 
the  doors  of  mock  auction  rooms  to  warn  the  unsuspectin  of  the 
danger  within,  the  victims  pass  in  only  to  be  swindl 
been  for  years  and  years. 


SOWING  AND  EEAPING. 

The  inevitable  law  of  whatsoever  a  farmer  sows,  that  must  he  reap 
in  harvest,  is  equally  true  in  the  physical  world.  The  farmer  sows 
wheat  and  always  gets  wheat  in  return.  Nature  never  changes  or 
reverses  her  laws.  If  the  farmer  fails  to  plow  and  cultivate  his  land 
in  the  spring  time,  and  sow  his  seed  early,  he  wTill  have  no  wheat  in 
harvest,  and  weeds  will  grow  instead,  and  sap  its  fertility.  If  a 
young  man  fails  to  sow  the  good  seed  in  the  morning  of  his  days,  to 
early  in  life  cultivate  his  mind,  and  store  it  with  valuable  and  useful 
information,  he  will  also  fail  of  reaping  the  reward  that  he  hopes 
t;O  obtain  eventually.  If  the  golden  opportunities  are  suffered  to 
pass  unheeded,  the  golden  harvest  time  will  never  come.  You  can- 
not be  idle  for  years  and  keep  your  mind  fresh  and  vigorous,  and  as 
quick  and  sharp  to  learn  and  retain  what  is  learned.  The  harden- 
ing process  cannot  be  overcome.  You  suffer  a  loss  that  cannot  be 
made  good,  however  hard  you  may  try. 

PATIENTLY  WAITING. 

The  farmer  sows  the  grain  in  early  spring,  that  he  niay  reap  in 
autumn.  He  has  to  wait  for  the  seed  to  germinate  and  pass  through 
all  the  varied  processes  until  it  is  matured  grain.  He  does  not  plow 
it  up  in  a  week  or  a  month,  because  it  has  not  matured.  He  has  to 
patiently  wait  for  the  full  maturity  of  the  ripened  grain. 

One  of  the  greatest  mistakes  young  men  are  liable  to  make  is,  un- 
willingness to  wait  for  the  harvest.  Because  their  labor,  their  sow- 
ing, does  not  bear  fruit  immediately,  they  throw  up  the  scheme  to 
try  something  else,  which  in  its  turn  is  abandoned.  They  are  con- 
tinually changing,  and  the  oftener  they  change  the  more  unsettled 
become  their  minds  and  the  greater  the  difficulty  to  buckle  down  to 
one  thing  and  stick  to  it.  They  desire  immediate  returns  for  their 
investments,  and  because  they  cannot  get  it,  they  sell  out  at  a  sacri- 
fice and  go  into  something  else.  It  is  not  altogether  in  knowing 
what  is  the  best  thing  to  do,  so  much  as  there  is  sticking  to  it  to  the 
end.  It  has  been  well  said  that  if  any  young  man  would  go  into 
any  legitimate  business  and  stick  to  it  for  ten  years  he  would  be- 
come independent.  It  requires  courage,  patience,  and  nerve. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  31 

STICK  TO  YOUR   BUSINESS. 

The  secret  of  every  man's  success,  who  has  worked  his  way  up 
from  poverty  to  affluence,  is  that  he  persistently  applied  him- 
self to  his  legitimate  business.  Early  and  late,  ignoring  all  out- 
side business,  paying  no  attention  whatever  to  the  many  schemes 
offered,  promising  great  returns  for  small  investments,  no  matter 
how  flattering.  We  have  often  seen  good  mechanics  who  could  earn 
three  dollars  per  day  in  the  shop,  trying  to  run  a  farm,  or  raising 
potatoes  and  vegetables  that  would  cost  them  at  least  four  times  as 
much  as  it  would  to  have  bought  them  of  dealers.  Some  people 
conceive  the  idea  that  their  neighbors'  business  yields  vastly 
greater  profits  than  their  own.  A  weak  and  vacillating  mind  never 
accomplishes  anything.  A  man  undertook  to  run  a  barber  shop. 
He  undertook  to  shave  three  men  at  once.  They  all  got  mad  and 
left  without  being  shaved,  and  the  barber  got  mad  because  he  had 
not  shaved  anybody. 

DON'T   "CUT   THE   CORNERS." 

A  great  many  young  men  are  inclined  to  clip  off  the  corners,  to 
round  them  off  carelessly,  and  the  more  they  clip  the  smaller  be- 
comes the  circle,  narrowing  down  their  chances  eveiy  round.  Don't 
cut  your  corners.  Leave  them  square  as  a  brick.  Maintain  all  the 
ground  and  hold  all  the  chances  you  have ;  add  to  instead  of  con- 
tracting. Your  success  depends  upon  holding  your  ground  firmly ; 
yielding  none  and  adding  when  you  can. 

LAYING   THE   FOUNDATION. 

The  very  first  step  a  young  man  takes  for  himself  is  the  most  im- 
portant one  of  all.  If  he  would  be  right  all  the  time  he  must  start 
right.  The  first  thing  a  builder  does  when  preparing  to  erect  a  good 
substantial  building  is  to  lay  the  foundation,  deep,  broad  and  on  a 
solid  footing.  If  he  fails  to  do  this  he  will  repent  of  his  folly  when 
it  is  too  late.  A  few  years  ago  a  granite  block  was  built  in  Boston 
some  eight  or  nine  stories  high,  and  when  it  was  completed,  it  was 
considered  one  of  the  best  blocks  in  the  city.  Its  substantial  char- 
acter to  all  appearance  made  it  as  lasting  as  the  granite  of  which  it 
was  built.  Tenants  to  occupy  it  were  numerous.  The  builder  had 


'32  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

the  utmost  faith  in  it.  They  could  "  pile  it  full  of  pig  lead."  But, 
alas,  before  it  was  half  stocked  with  goods,  it  went  down,  filling  the 
street  with  stone,  bricks,  broken  timbers,  and  bales  of  goods ;  and  sev- 
eral persons  were  killed  who  had  not  time  to  escape.  We  saw  the 
block  when  completed,  we  saw  it  in  ruins.  Why  did  it  fall  ?  Down 
in  the  cellar  was  a  few  feet  of  an  old  wall,  and  to  save  a  few  dollars 
it  was  left,  and  when  the  enormous  weight  of  the  structure  began  to 
bear  down  upon  it,  it  could  not  stand  the  pressure,  and  the  entire 
block  fell  in  ruins.  A  hundred  or  two  hundred  dollars  worth  of 
work  saved  in  the  foundation  was  over  a  hundred  thousand  dollars 
loss  in  the  end,  and  that  was  but  a  trifle  in  comparison  with  the  lives 
sacrificed,  which  no  money  could  pay  for. 

THE   FALL   OF   THE  PEMBERTON   MILL. 

The  Pemberton  mill  at  Lawrence,  Massachusetts,  a  few  years  ago, 
fell  down  while  in  full  operation  and  full  of  operatives.  The  ruins 
immediately  took  fire  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  lives  were 
sacrificed.  It  was  simply  the  result  of  the  grossest  carelessness  of 
the  superintendent,  or  master-builder.  Iron  columns  were  allowed 
to  be  put  in  that  were  defective  in  casting.  They  were  thin  as  pa- 
per on  one  side  and  as  thick  as  a  plank  on  the  other,  when  they 
should  have  been  as  true  as  a  hair  all  around.  When  the  pressure 
came  upon  them  they  were  crippled.  All  this  came  by  trying  to 
save  a  little  money  by  getting  work  done  cheaply.  No  man  can  af- 
ford to  cheat  himself  in  the  foundation.  So  it  is  in  character  build- 
ing. Every  one  must  look  well  to  the  foundation.  If  that  is  defec- 
tive it  will  tell  on  him,  and  may  bring  him  down. 

THE   DAVENPORT   BRIDGE. 

When  the  great  iron  bridge  that  spans  the  Father  of  Waters 
at  this  city  was  built,  the  utmost  care  was  exercised  in  put- 
ting down  the  piers,  to  get  them  on  a  solid  foundation.  They  went 
down  until  they  struck  the  rock,  and  then  cut  down  into  the  rock 
for  the  first  layer,  and  bolted  it  down.  The  layers  were  cemented 
and  doweled  together,  making  a  piece  of  masoniy  as  firm  and  solid 
as  though  it  was  hewn  out  of  a  quarry,  one  solid  block.  It  will 
stand  for  centuries.  Young  man,  lay  your  foundation  deep;  go 
down  to  the  bed  rock ! 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  33 

CHARACTER   BUILDING. 

A  good  reputation,  based  upon  a  good  character,  is  a  fortune  to 
any  young  man.  No  one  can  eventually  fill  the  positions  in  the 
community  that  he  ought  to  fill,  and  which  he  hopes  to  fill,  unless 
his  character  is  spotless.  Two  men  in  two  different  counties  in  Illi- 
nois were  elected  to  the  office  of  treasurer  of  their  respective  coun- 
ties. Neither  could  enter  upon  the  duties  of  the  office  because  he 
could  not  give  the  bonds  required.  The  character  of  each  for  in- 
tegrity and  honesty  was  not  backed  up  by  their  friends.  Conse- 
quently they  failed  to  get  the  offices,  and  the  shadow  will  hang  over 
them  to  the  day  of  their  death. 

Hundreds  of  young  men  fail  to  get  good  positions  in  banks  and 
public  offices  because  they  cannot  give  bonds.  A  cloud  rests  on 
their  reputation.  Better  to  sacrifice  your  right  arm,  than  to  have  a 
cloud  of  suspicion  on  your  character.  Remember  that  you  are 
building  up  your  character  every  day,  every  hour.  The  public  are 
scrutinizing  it  all  the  time,  watching  to  see  how  you  are  building, 
how  you  are  laying  the  foundation.  The  public  have  keen  eyes  and 
sensitive  ears,  and  some  terrible  eave-droppers  to  tell  on  a  fellow. 
Telephone  wires  run  to  every  man's  door. 

Four  young  men  went  into  an  alley  late  one  night  to  quarrel  qui- 
etly over  their  ill  luck  at  a  gambling  house.  A  night  clerk  in  the 
post-office  heard  every  word  they  said,  and  knew  every  voice.  They 
were  employed  by  firms  in  the  city  holding  responsible  positions. 
If  their  names  had  appeared  in  the  morning  papers  there  would 
have  been  some  vacancies,  and  an  advertisement  like  this  would 
have  appeared,  "  Wanted  a  clerk ;  none  but  those  having  the  best  of 
references  need  apply." 

A  gentleman  was  riding  in  a  street  car,  and  heard  two  young  men 
talking  over  a  Sunday's  carnival,  and  learned  what  this  one  and 
that  one  did,  and  what  one  of  his  own  clerks  did.  He  was  thunder- 
struck. He  could  not  believe  it.  It  must  be  some  other  young  man 
of  the  same  name.  It  set  him  to  thinking.  He  put  a  detective  on 
his  clerk's  tracks,  who  followed  him  for  two  weeks.  He  put  a  watch 
on  his  every  day  work,  and  on  the  cash  drawer;  also  on  the  cus- 
tomers that  were  always  so  particular  to  transact  all  their  business 
with  him.  The  detective  reported,  and  the  next  day  the  young  man 
3 


34  KENT 8  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

was  "  off  duty."    He  was  not  feeling  well ;  had  not  been  feeling  well 
of  late.    Thought  he  would  have  to  change  climate,  and  he  did. 

We  tell  you  young  man  that  you  cannot  ride  two  horses  at  the 
same  time,  especially  when  they  are  going  in  opposite  directions. 
We  often  hear  young  men  complaining  that  they  cannot  get  any- 
thing to  do.  Other  young  men  succeed  while  they  fail.  They  for- 
get, or  do  not  realize  the  fact,  when  sowing  their  wild  oats,  that 
they  will  some  day  have  to  reap  them.  O,  the  briars,  the  thorns 
how  they  scratch  and  tear ;  yes  they  prick  to  the  very  quick.  That 
is  not  all,  they  leave  the  scars,  that  will  not  wash  out,  or  heal  up. 
However  much  a  merchant  may  value  smartness  or  business  talent 
in  a  young  man,  it  all  goes  for  nothing,  if  he  is  not  reliable.  In- 
tegrity first,  integrity  last.  That  must  be  your  corner  stone  if  you 
are  building  up  a  character  that  will  stand  against  every  temptation, 
every  snare,  every  allurement,  and  give  you  a  spotless  reputation, 
and  what  money  cannot  buy. 

ADMIRAL  FARRAGUT  AT  TEN  YEARS  OF  AGE. 

Admiral  David  G.  Farragut  tells  the  story  of  how  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  splendid  career,  as  follows : 

"  Would  you  like  to  know  how  I  was  enabled  to  serve  my  country  ? 
It  was  all  owing  to  a  resolution  I  formed  when  I  was  ten  years  of 
age.  My  father  was  sent  down  to  New  Orleans  with  the  little  navy 
we  then  had,  to  look  after  the  treason  of  Burr.  I  accompanied  him 
as  cabin  boy.  I  had  some  qualities  that  I  thought  made  a  man  of 
me.  I  could  swear  like  an  old  salt;  could  drink  as  stiff  a  glass  of 
grog  as  if  I  had  doubled  Cape  Horn,  and  could  smoke  like  a  loco- 
motive. I  was  great  at  cards,  and  fond  of  gambling  in  every  shape. 
At  the  close  of  the  dinner,  one  day,  my  father  turned  everybody  out 
of  the  cabin,  locked  the  door,  and  said  to  me : 

" '  David,  what  do  you  mean  to  be  ?' 

" '  I  mean  to  follow  the  sea.' 

kt '  Follow  the  sea !  Yes,  be  a  poor  miserable,  drunken  sailor  be- 
fore the  mast,  kicked  and  cuffed  about  the  world,  and  die  in  some 
fever  hospital  in  a  foreign  clime.' 

" '  No,'  I  said,  '  I'll  tread  the  quarter-deck,  and  command,  as  you 
do.' 

" '  No,  David ;  no  boy  ever  trod  the  quarter-deck  with  such  princi- 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  35 

pies  as  you  have,  and  such  habits  as  you  exhibit.  You'll  have  to 
change  your  whole  course  of  life,  if  you  ever  become  a  man.' 

u  My  father  left  me  and  went  on  deck.  I  was  stunned  by  the  re- 
buke, and  overwhelmed  with  mortification.  '  A  poor,  miserable, 
drunken  sailor  before  the  mast,  kicked  and  cuffed  about  the  world, 
and  to  die  in  some  fever  hospital !  That's  my  fate,  is  it  ?  I'll  change 
my  life,  and  change  it  at  once.  I  will  never  utter  another  oath ;  I 
will  never  drink  another  drop  of  intoxicating  liquors;  I  will  never 
gamble.'  And,  as  God  is  my  witness,  I  have  kept  those  three  vows 
to  this  hour." 

Congress  has  just  ordered  a  TWENTY  THOUSAND  DOLLAR  monu- 
ment to  the  boy  who  was  a  hero  at  ten,  and  greater  at  that  age  than 
ever  after ;  greater  than  Alexander  the  Great,  who,  when  he  had  con- 
quered all  known  worlds,  wept  because  there  were  no  other  worlds 
for  him  to  conquer — conquered  everything  but  himself,  and  died 
at  thirty-three.  Farragut  fought  the  greatest  battle  of  his  life  alone, 
single  handed,  leaving  dead  at  his  feet  every  foe.  An  example  that 
challenges  the  world  to  produce  a  brighter  illustration,  or  a  greater 
hero. 

Up  on  the  side  of  some  mountain,  or  in  a  lonely  glen,  isolated 
from  civilized  society,  other  heroes  have  commenced  their  battles  of 
life  unknown  to  the  outside  world,  with  Nature  their  only  teacher. 
David,  the  Psalmist,  caught  his  inspirations  while  tending  his 
father's  sheep;  one  of  the  greatest  astronomers  wrought  his  great 
problems  upon  the  mould  board  of  the  plow,  while  the  oxen  were 
resting.  What  man  has  done  once  can  be  done  again.  Young  man 
this  is  a  lesson  for  you  to  read  and  learn  by  heart. 


FORTUNE. 

Turn,  Fortune,  turn  thy  wheel  aud  lower  the  proud; 
Tur%  thy  wild  wheal  through  sunshine,  storm  and  cloud; 
Thy  wheel  and  thee  we  neither  love  nor  hate. 

Turn,  Fortune,  turn  thy  wheel  with  smile  or  frown; 
With  that  wild  wheel  we  go  not  up  or  down: 
Our  hoard  is  little,  but  our  hearts  are  great. 

Smile  and  we  smile,  the  lords  of  many  lands; 
Frown  and  we  smile,  the  lords  of  our  own  hands, 
For  man  is  man  aud  master  of  his  fate. 

Turn,  turn  thy  wheel  above  the  staring  crowd; 
Thy  wheel  and  thou  are  shadows  in  the  cloud; 
Thy  wheel  and  thee  we  neither  love  or  hate. 

— Tennyson. 

A  good  or  bad  fortune  rests  with  each  individual.  It  has  been 
well  said  that  "  the  boy  is  index  to  the  man ;"  that  "  each  one  is  the 
architect  of  his  own  fortune."  These  trite  sayings  need  no  proof. 
The  history  of  men  of  all  classes  in  all  ages  of  the  world  down  to 
the  present,  bears  indisputable  evidence  of  this  truth.  The  boy 
grows  into  manhood  and  the  same  characteristics  that  were  promi- 
nent when  a  boy  will  show  themselves  in  the  man.  It  becomes  every 
young  man  to  heed  these  injunctions,  and  shape  his  course  early  in 
life,  mark  out  the  man  he  wants  to  be,  and  then  follow  the  pattern 
closely,  remembering  that  he  cannot  go  contrary  to  his  plans  for 
years,  and  then  jump  into  a  character  entirely  the  opposite. 

We  often  hear  young  men  say  that  if  their  circumstances  were 
different  they  might  succeed,  but,  as  it  is,  there  is  no  use  of  their 
trying.  Everything  is  against  them.  What  did  Napoleon  say  about 
circumstances.  He  asked  one  of  his  marshals  about  a  movement 
he  had  in  contemplation,  aud  the  answer  was,  if  circumstances  were 
favorable,  it  might  be  accomplished.  Napoleon  replied,  "  Circum- 
stances! I  care  nothing  about  circumstances;  I  make  circumstan- 
ces!" "  Only  give  me  a  standing  place,  and  I  will  lift  the  world," 
says  one.  The  man  of  business,  of  energy,  makes  his  own  standing 
place.  Captain  Stevens  was  a  man  of  this  sort.  He  never  wanted 
to  take  hold  of  a  great  undertaking  until  everybody  else  had  failed 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  87 

and  pronounced  it  an  utter  impossibility.  Then  he  was  ready  to 
undertake  the  job.  The  engineers-  who  tirst  undertook  to  build  a 
dam  across  the  Merrimac  river  at  Lawrence,  Mass.,  were  swept  away 
with  their  dam,  before  it  was  completed,  and  narrowly  escaped 
drowning.  Captain  Stevens  was  in  his  glory.  He  put  in  the  dam 
and  it  will  stand  for  centuries. 

WHAT  TO  DO. 

No  question  more  difficult  to  answer,  was  ever  asked  by  a  young- 
man  than:  "  What  shall  I  do?"  Probably  there  is  not  a  young  man 
in  the  United  States  who  has  not  asked  himself  and  his  friends  the 
question  hundreds  of  times.  It  is  a  very  perplexing  problem  to 
solve.  The  great  majority  of  young  men  to-day  are  like  the  man 
lost  in  a  dense  forest,  who  in  his  wanderings  comes  to  where  several 
paths  meet,  crossing  each  other,  diverging  to  all  points  of  the  com- 
pass, and  no  guide  board  to  point  out  the  right  path  homeward. 
When  they  come  seriously  to  think  what  their  life-work  will  be, 
they  are  standing  at  a  point  where  numerous  avenues  converge  to  a 
common  centre.  They  look  down  one  and  up  another,  and  are  lost ; 
and  why?  Simply  because  they  do  not  know  the  greatest  of  all 
secrets — one  which  every  young  man  ought  to  learn  very  early  in 
life,  and  the  ignorance  of  which  has  ruined  thousands.  It  is  the  old 
maxim,  "  Know  thyself." 

Of  all  the  numerous  acquaintances  a  young  man  may  have  on  his 
list,  they  are  all  entirely  valueless  in  comparison  to  the  individual 
acquaintance  with  one's  self.  Serious  mistakes,  trouble  and  despair 
over  miserable  failures,  come  to  many  because  of  being  simply 
ignorant  of  themselves.  To  every  young  man  we  would  say  that 
success  or  failure  in  a  great  measure  hinges  on  the  knowledge  you 
have  of  yourself.  You  may  be  a  superb  scholar,  a  capital  teacher, 
and  yet  make  a  miserable  failure  in  merchandizing.  It  is  better  to 
be  a  first-class  blacksmith,  pounding  red  hot  iron  with  a  sledge 
hammer — playing  the  anvil  chorus — than  a  dull  preacher,  vainly 
tiying  to  pound  theology  out  of  a  church  pulpit  that  is  neither  there 
nor  in  the  head.  It  is  better  to  be  a  wood-sawyer's  clerk  than  a 
briefless  lawyer.  If  you  have  no  conception  of  colors,  of  light  and 
shade,  portrait  painting  is  not  your  business.  If  you  have  no  taste 
for  music,  and  cannot  distinguish  a  concord  from  a  discord,  let  that 


38  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

pass.  If  you  dislike  mathematics,  surveying  would  not  be  a  pleas- 
ant pastime.  To  be  a  successful  grocer,  you  must  be  a  good  taster, 
and  know  the  goods,  or  you  will  be  "  sold"  every  day  in  the  year. 

FORTUNE   TELLING. 

"  Fortune  tellers"  have  been  found  in  all  ages  of  the  world.  No 
nation,  no  tribe,  however  low  and  degraded,  that  has  not  its  fortune 
tellers.  There  seems  to  be  a  natural  craving  or  desire  in  the  minds 
of  many  to  have  their  fortunes  made  known  to  them  faster  than  an 
all-wise  Providence  sees  fit  to  reveal.  They  resort  to  professionals 
who  advertise  that  they  have  power  to  lift  the  mystic  veil — the  cur- 
tain that  hides  from  ordinary  mortals  the  future — and  read  off  the 
events  as  they  are  to  be  acted  out  by  each  one  who  may  seek  to  know 
of  corning  events.  But,  who  holds  the  mystic  key  with  which  to 
unlock  the  mysterious  future,  and  of  unborn  years  ?  Where  is  the 
artist  that  has  the  power  to  throw  upon  canvas  the  scenes  and 
secrets  these  years  are  to  unfold,  with  all  the  events  that  will  be 
crowded  into  them  ?  Who  holds  the  creative  power  to  speak  in  to 
life  the  men,  the  women  and  children  unborn  that  are  to  live,  with 
whom  you  are  to  act,  to  mould  and  be  moulded  in  all  these  years  ? 
Who  is  able  to  make  them  stand  upon  the  stage  and  rehearse  the 
parts  that  each  one  is  to  play  in  the  great  drama  of  life  ?  Who  can 
harness  the  elements  and  bid  them  perform  their  part  in  the  grand 
unison  chorus — one  harmonious  anthem  without  a  break  or  discord  ? 
Where  is  the  fortune-teller  that  can  accomplish  all  this  ? 

THE   ASTROLOGERS. 

The  astrologer  brings  his  horoscope  to  bear  upon  the  planetary 
world,  and  by  knowing  the  hour  of  one's  birth,  he  tells  what  planets 
were  in  or  out  of  conjunction,  and  reads  your  future  with  unerring 
certainty.  The  planets  hold  all  secrets  with  him,  and  they  never 
fail.  But  what  h  =ve  the  planets  to  do  with  you  or  me,  or  the  people 
of  this  world  ? 

Has  mighty  Jupiter  the  destinies  of  the  human  family  bound  up 
in  his  archives,  to  be  passed  out  on  call  to  some  professed  astrologer* 
some  fortune  teller?  Has  fiery  Mars  or  beautiful  Venus  a  share  in 
these  revelations?  What  difference  will  it  make  in  your  life  or 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  39 

mine  to  know  what  planets  were  in  conjunction,  or  out  of  it,  at  the 
hour  of  our  birth?  What  has  that  to  do  with  your  life  or  mine? 
Just  as  much  as  the  effect  of  the  new  moon,  whether  it  appears  over 
our  right  or  left  shoulder,  and  no  more.  Either  way  it  is  simply 
moonshine,  and  the  best  evidence  of  your  lunacy,  and  of  your  being 
a  fit  subject  for  a  lunatic  asylum. 

It  is  simply  foolishness  for  you  to  worship  the  planets.  As  well 
worship  all  the  stars,  paying  your  devotions  to  the  uncounted  mil- 
lions, and  invoke  the  entire  celestial  powders,  for  fear  some  evil  star 
may  be  left  out  to  ruin  your  happiness,  upsetting  all  your  plans, 
present  and  future.  Astronomers  will  tell  you  that  the  revealing  of 
fortunes  by  the  stars  is  but  the  trick  of  knaves.  If  there  is  any  one 
planet  that  has  anything  to  do  with  humanity,  it  is  the  one  from 
which  we  come — the  one  to  which  we  all  must  return.  It  is  utterly 
inconceivable,  incomprehensible  to  any  thinking  mind,  how  a  star, 
a  million  times  larger  than  the  earth,  millions  upon  millions  of 
miles  away,  sweeping  through  its  orbit  with  a  velocity  incompre- 
hensible, requiring  centuries  to  perform  a  single  revolution,  could 
possibly  have  anything  to  do  with  the  destinies  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth,  much  less  of  one  single  individual.  Would  it  stop  on  its 
course  to  reveal  earthly  mysteries  to  some  astrologer  for  his 
profit  ?  Astrologers  tell  us  of  stars  so  far  distant  that  a  ray  of  light 
flying  with  the  swiftness  of  200,000  miles  a  second,  would  require 
more  than  6,000  centuries  to  reach  our  world,  and  more  than  4,000 
centuries  to  perform  a  single  revolution  in  its  orbit.  That  star  may 
have  been  blotted  out  more  than  5,000  centuries  after  a  ray  of  light 
started  on  its  long  journey  earthward,  yet  that  star  may  have  just  as 
much  influence  over  human  destiny  as  the  millions  upon  millions 
that  illuminate  the  milky  way.  When  you  can  find  an  astrologer 
who  can  or  has  seated  himself  upon  some  projectile,  or  a  cannon 
ball,  propelled  by  a  power  that  will  not  permit  it  to  slacken  its 
velocity,  sweeping  through  constellation  after  constellation,  through 
fiery  comets,  showers  of  shooting  stars,  meteoric  rocks  hurled  from 
volcanic  abysses  of  other  worlds  in  convulsion,  sweeping  out  of  one 
system  into  other  systems,  on  and  on  through  immeasureable  space 
to  reach  some  other  remote  system  unknown  to  the  wisest  astrono- 
mers of  earth,  a  journey  occupying  six  to  ten  thousand  centuries, 
and  having  arrived  in  safety  to  your  guiding  star,  and  sends  back 


40  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

the  telegram  of  his  safe  transit  and  his  welcome  thereto,  and  that 
his  journey  and  mission  is  a  success,  then  by  all  means  accept  the 
revelation.  But  a  myriad  of  centuries  have  intervened  since  he 
started.  Where  will  a  message  reach  you?  What  will  be  your 
address  then?  You  may  say  that  your  guiding  star  is  not  so  far 
away.  Perhaps  that  may  be,  but  look  at  the  figures.  We  are  told 
that  seventy  births  occur  every  moment  of  time,  or  100,800  every 
twenty-four  hours.  This  is  forty  millions  a  year.  Multiply  it  by 
centuries,  and  solve  the  problem  if  you  can.  What  star  has  been 
assigned  to  hold  your  destiny,  and  is  it  near  or  far  away  ?  We  think 
after  you  have  well  considered  this  stupendous  proposition  you  will 
write  "reductio  ad  absurdum." 

The  palmist  measures  the  long  and  short  lines  upon  the  palms  of 
the  hand,  and  thereby  one's  fortune  is  unfolded  to  a  mathematical 
certainty !  Another  reads  from  pasteboard  or  prepared  picture  cards, 
and  they  become  revealers  of  fate.  Ground  up  rags !  O,  if  they 
could  speak  what  tales  would  they  not  tell !  The  settling  of  the 
grounds  in  a  coffee  cup  settles  ones  hereafter  beyond  question.  If 
the  coffee  should  not  be  strictly  pure,  we  should  fear  the  result. 
Probably  one's  fortune  would  be  a  little  mixed. 

A  seventh  son  is  a  wonder.  His  power  to  penetrate  into  futurity 
is  marvelous ;  but  when  a  seventh  son  of  a  seventh  son  puts  in  his 
appearance,  all  the  lesser  lights  are  extinguished.  His  power  is 
augmented  according  to  the  rate  of  geometrical  progression.  We 
have  not  time  or  space  to  compute  the  magnitude  of  his  power. 
Why,  on  simple  multiplication  he  can  see  just  forty-nine  times  far- 
ther into  the  future  than  a  seventh  son.  How  wonderful!  How 
favored  one  must  be  who  can  scan  the  future  and  look  down  so  far 
into  its  hidden  secrets! 

THE   "  SPIRITS." 

They  cap  the  climax.  They  have  been  there  and  seen  it  all.  The 
grand  panorama  has  been  unfolded  before  their  eyes.  They  hold  the 
programme.  The  parts  that  each  will  act  are  all  printed  in  letters 
of  gold.  Their  residence  in  the  spirit  world  has  fitted  them  vastly 
better  than  any  one  who  is  confined  within  the  bounds  of  this  mun- 
dane sphere,  consequently  they  must  be  believed.  Spirits  won't  lie 
unless  they  are  very  wicked.  Sometimes  wicked  spirits  do  slip  in 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 


41 


on  the  sly,  however.  This  brings  to  mind  the  following  epitaph 
prepared  for  a  man  by  the  name  of  Keazle,  who  had  expected  to 
climb  the  "  Golden  Stairs"  and  enter  the  beautiful  city.  The  epi- 
taph reveals  his  sad  fate,  and  is  a  warning  to  all  who  consult  spirit- 
rappers,  or  fortune-tellers. 

"There  was  a  man  who  died  of  late, 
And  by  angels  borne  to  heaven^s  gate; 
While  hovering  round  these  lower  skies, 
In  slipped  the  devil  like  a  weazle, 
And  down  to  the  pit  he  kicked  old  Keazle.' 

THE   GYPSIES. 

But  if  all  others  fail  to  read  the  "  signs  of  the  times,"  as  a  last  re- 
sort, consult  the  Gypsies.  Should  you  have  five  hundred  dollars  in 
cash  in  your  pocket,  don't  fail  to  make  the  fact  known,  as  great  or 
small  events  hinge  on  the  contents  of  your  pocket  book.  They  can 
read  all  the  future,  and  see  coming  events  as  clear  as  noon-day,  but 
they  cannot  look  inside  your  pocket  book !  So  be  sure  to  make 
known  your  financial  condition,  and  as  they  can  see  just  when  and 
where  to  invest,  they  will  satisfy  you  beyond  a  doubt  that  it  will 
only  take  your  pile  on  a  margin  to  make  sure  of  ten  times  the 
amount.  Untold  wealth  will  flow  in  upon  you  rapidly,  only  you 
must  allow  them  to  hold  the  money  to  fool  the  fickle  "  goddess  of 
fortune"  with. 

That  an  all-wise  Providence  should,  in  his  infinite  wisdom,  veil 
the  eyes  of  his  most  devoted  worshipers,  and  communicate  hidden 
mysteries  to  roving,  thieving  bands  of  Gypsies — vagabonds  of  the 
meanest  and  lowest  class — is  too  preposterous  for  a  moment's  con- 
sideration. 

Once  on  a  time  a  lady  was  walking  out  in  a  beautiful  park,  enjoy- 
ing its  loveliness,  when  she  was  approached  by  a  person  who  pro- 
posed to  tell  her  fortune.  She  very  unwisely  consented  to  allow 
him  to  show  what  power  he  possessed  to  read  the  future.  Although 
she  was  well  satisfied  with  her  situation,  he  explained  to  her  what 
she  ought  to  do  to  enjoy  far  greater  happiness,  and  how  she  could 
rise  above  her  present  circumscribed  bounds,  by  simply  changing 
her  present  way  of  living,  and  stand  upon  a  higher  plane.  She 
finally  decided  to  follow  the  fortune-teller's  advice.  Itwasaterri- 


42  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

ble  mistake.  She  gained  nothing,  but  lost  all  her  former  posses- 
sions, and  her  happiness.  All  this  for  allowing  her  fortune  to  be 
told.  For  full  .particulars  of  the  sad  calamity  that  befel  her  and 
her  children,  see  a  very  old  book  known  as  the  history  of  the  Jews. 
It  can  be  found  in  all  public  libraries.  It  is  among  the  relics  of  the 
collection  of  Jewish  antiquities.  No  one  can  read  it  without  feel- 
ing saddened  and  grieved  at  the  untold  misery  and  sorrow  it  brought 
to  that  once  happy  family  simply  by  allowing  a  fortune-teller  to 
gain  their  attention  and  accepting  his  advice. 

Let  me  say  here  with  earnestness  that  no  possible  good  can  come 
to  any  one,  rich  or  poor,  by  consulting  any  fortune-teller,  no  matter 
under  what  name  or  pretended  system  he  may  advertise.  They  are 
all  of  one  class — stupendous  humbugs  and  swindlers.  It  is  abso- 
lutely dangerous  for  any  young  person  to  consult  one  of  them. 
Persons  too  lazy  to  walk,  too  mean  to  go  to  the  poorhouse,  make  it 
a  profession,  because  they  can  find  dupes  to  patronize  them. 

A  few  years  ago  a  fortune-teller  and  his  wife  engaged  rooms  in  a 
large  hotel  at  Lawrence,  Mass.  They  issued  flaming  bills,  inviting 
everybody  to  come  to  them  and  have  their  future  unfolded.  One 
night  the  hotel  took  fire  and  was  burnt  down.  The  fortune-teller 
and  his  wife  lost  everything  but  their  night  clothes,  and  would  have 
lost  themselves  had  they  not  been  taken  out  of  a  room,  and  down  a 
ladder  by  the  firemen.  Surely  people  who  know  so  much  about 
other  people's  fortunes  should  be  able  to  read  their  own.  Give  for- 
tune-tellers a  wide  berth,  and  you  will  be  the  gainer. 

THE   FORTUNE-TELLER. 

A  hungry  lean-faced  villain, 

A  mere  anatomy,  a  mountebank, 

A  thread-bare  juggler,  and  a  fortune-teller, 

A  needy,  hollow-eyed,  sharp-looking  wretch, 

A  living  dead  man.    This  pernicious  slave, 

Forsooth,  look  on  him  as  a  conjurer; 

And  gazing  in  mine  eyes,  feeling  my  pulse, 

And  with  no  face,  as  't  were,  outfacing  me, 

Cries  out  I  was  possessed.  — Shakspeare. 


READING  FICTION. 

No  young  man  should  spend  his  time  in  reading  fiction,  for  it  is 
a  waste,  and  he  has  no  time  to  lose.  Every  hour  he  devotes  to  read- 
ing novels  is  worse  than  wasted.  It  fills  the  mind  with  that  which 
is  not  true,  giving  a  false  coloring  to  real  life.  It  weakens  the  men- 
tal powers  instead  of  developing  them.  Reading  that  which  requires 
no  thought  to  comprehend,  is  harmful  to  the  mind.  If  you  were 
training  for  an  athlete,  you  would  not  use  feather  pillows  for  Indian 
clubs,  or  india-rubber  foot  balls  for  cannon  balls.  Toy  playthings 
are  not  the  implements  used  to  develop  muscle.  When  one  thing 
is  learned,  something  more  difficult  must  be  attempted.  It  is  the 
constant  exercise  of  the  muscles  that  develops  the  power.  No  one 
knows  what  power  he  can  develop  by  daily  practice  until  he  tries. 

What  is  accomplished  by  physical  training  can,  by  the  same  laws, 
be  accomplished  by  mental  discipline.  It  is  development  that  a 
young  man  needs  most.  Not  one  person  in  ten  has  fully  developed 
his  capabilities,  his  native  talent.  Any  man  can  ruin  his  system, 
become  helpless  as  a  stone,  if  he  chooses  so  to  do.  Tie  up  your  arm 
for  six  months  and  you  will  realize  what  inaction  can  accomplish. 
Let  the  mind  have  nothing  to  feed  upon  year  in  and  out,  and  you 
will  become  an  imbecile,  idiotic.  Read  flashy  novels,  exciting  fic- 
tion, night  and  day,  and  you  will  become  as  simple  and  foolish  as 
the  characters  portrayed.  Is  the  flavor,  the  fragrance  of  a  good 
dinner  better  than  the  dinner  itself?  Is  brass  jewelry  better  than 
gold ?  Are  mock  diamonds  better  than  real  diamonds?  Is  counter- 
feit money  better  than  the  genuine  ?  If  so,  take  the  counterfeit — 
read  fiction.  Fiction  is  all  counterfeit,  therefore  why  read  it  at  all, 
when  "  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction."  If  froth  and  foam  will  develop 
muscle,  and  make  a  Hercules  of  a  weak  body,  then  take  froth  and 
foam  for  a  diet.  How  long  do  you  think  a  blacksmith's  arm  would 
swing  the  sledge  hammer  if  he  was  fed  on  gas  ?.  He  would  probably 
get  as  fat  as  Job's  wild  asses  did  when  they  snuffed  up  the  east  wind. 
We  have  known  persons  to  sit  down  and  read  fiction  all  day,  and 
weep  over  the  story  of  some  poor  unfortunate  creature,  a  victim  of 
cruel  and  heartless  treatment  in  the  cold  and  unsympathizing  world ; 
yet  when  a  real  living,  breathing,  unfortunate,  knocks  in  person  at 


44  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

the  kitchen  door,  with  a  sick  child  in  her  arms,  wet  and  cold,  ask- 
ing for  bread,  while  the  tears  fall  upon  the  pages  of  fiction,  the 
reader  can  tell  Bridget  to  say  to  the  poor  woman  she  has  "  nothing 
for  her  to-day,  don't  let  her  come  in."  This  is  true  in  fact.  It  is  no 
fiction.  All  sympathy  for  real  suffering  is  dead  and  buried,  by 
novel  reading.  It  is  the  natural  fruit. 

The  library  of  Cornell  College  contains  40,000  volumes,  and  it  is 
said  there  is  not  a  single  book  of  fiction  in  the  number.  Why  ex- 
cluded ?  For  the  wisest  and  best  of  all  reasons,  that  they  are  harm- 
ful to  any  student. 

DIME   NOVELS. 

One  of  the  curses  of  the  late  war  was  the  multiplication  of  low, 
trashy,  and  vile  literature.  Ten  million  of  rattlesnakes  let  loose 
among  the  young  people,  and  school  children,  could  not  have  done 
the  harm  that  has  been  and  is  being  done  by  these  vile  nuisances. 
We  have  seen  small  boys  sitting  on  curb-stones,  on  side-walks,  on 
the  floor-at  the  post-office,  in  the  alleys  on  boxes  and  barrels,  any- 
where that  they  could  find  a  place  to  stop  and  read.  School  boys 
would  have  their  pockets  filled  with  dime  novels  to  read  in  school, 
in  church,  at  home,  when  their  parents  were  not  watching  them. 
Well,  what's  the  harm  V  Young  people  must  have  something  to 
read.  They  do  not  want  to  sit  down  and  read  the  bible  all  the  time, 
or  Webster's  dictionary.  Of  course  they  know  they  are  only  stories! 
Very  well.  Arsenic  is  only  arsenic;  everybody  knows  it  is  poison; 
knows  it  will  kill.  For  all  that,  there  are  hundreds  who  are  feeding 
on  arsenic  to  beautify  their  complexion.  It  is  splendid  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  there  is  nothing  equal  to  it;  it  gives  the  finest  complexion 
for  a  corpse  of  anything  we  know  of,  when  laid  in  a  casket.  Flowers 
always  show  off  to  advantage  when  nicely  arranged  to  harmonize 
with  the  beautiful  complexion  of  the  dead.  "What  a  beautiful 
corpse,  how  sweet."  Arsenic  eating  is  simply  death  to  the  eater. 
Storing  the  mind  with  the  contents  of  dime  novels  and  that  class  of 
trash,  is  worse  than  eating  arsenic.  It  poisons  the  mind,  filling  it 
with  that  which  will  in  the  end  wreck  both  mind,  body  and  soul. 
The  direct  teaching  is  downward.  In  short  it  is  nothing  more  or 
less  than  "the  criminal's  true  guide,"  their  u  first  reader."  Almost 
every  day  in  the  year  you  may  see  advertised,  u  Missing,  my  boy 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  45 

Willie  Smith,"  or,  "  My  daughter,  Mary  Smith."  City  marshals  are 
busy  hunting  up  the  Willie  Smiths,  and  Tom  Joneses,  and  Mary 
Smiths  and  Mary  Joneses,  who  left  their  homes  on  the  direct  road  to 
ruin ;  all  poisoned  by  trashy,  yellow  covered  literature. 

Hundreds  of  boys  have  been  lured  from  their  homes  to  become 
heroes  like  some  of  the  characters  they  have  read  about.  Yes,  the 
saddest  of  it  all  is  that,  unlike  the  Prodigal  Son,  too  late  they 
come  to  themselves,  and  a  father's  house  is  then  too  far  away,  and 
in  despair  they  take  the  next  step,  suicide.  Not  a  day  in  all  the 
year  but  that  some  of  these  unfortunates  "  pass  over  the  river."  You 
can  write  it  down  in  your  diary,  that  every  young  person  whose 
name  you  read  in  the  papers,  under  twenty  years  of  age,  as  having 
committed  suicide,  was  led  to  it  by  reading  dime  novels  and  similar 
publications.  Young  man,  beware!  Know  well  the  character  of 
the  fountain  before  you  drink.  You  can  well  take  the  judgment, 
the  verdict  of  those  who  have  analyzed  these  fountains,  and  know 
the  deadly  poison  they  contain,  and  the  victims  that  have  fallen, 
without  your  testing  them.  The  way  to  tell  mushrooms  from  toad- 
stools is,  if  you  eat  them  and  they  kill  you,  they  are  toad-stools;  if 
they  don't  kill  they  are  mushrooms.  The  safest  and  surest  way  is 
not  to  try  the  experiment.  Then  you  run  no  risk.  So  we  say  as  to 
novels,  don't  try  the  experiment  simply  to  test  the  rule.  The  world 
is  full  of  good  and  pure  literature,  suitable  for  all  classes  of  minds. 
When  you  once  have  acquired  a  taste  for  the  pure,  you  will  loathe 
the  sight  of  the  impure.  We  would  not  throw  out  Shakspeare  and 
Dickens,  and  that  class  of  writers,  who  have  written  true  to  nature 
to  expose  great  public  evils.  Tearing  off  the  cloak  of  hypocrisy, 
and  bringing  before  the  people  knowledge  of  great  wrongs,  of 
"  wickedness  in  high  places,"  that  they  may  be  corrected.  ^Esop's 
Fables,  allegories,  and  that  class  of  writings,  are  able  to  hit  hard 
when  facts  and  names  cannot  be  stated.  One  holds  up  to  view  crime 
in  all  its  hideousness  to  make  people  abhor  it,  while  writers  of  the 
other  class  bring  before  their  readers  the  worst  of  characters  to  hold 
up  their  wickedness  as  worthy  of  emulation,  and  to  gloat  over  tln'ir 
crimes  as  though  they  were  virtues,  as  though  crime  in  heroes  was 
worthy  to  be  followed. 


46  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

WHAT  TO  READ. 

Read  the  best  books ;  lives  of  distinguished  men,  of  statesmen ; 
books  of  travels,  the  rise  and  fall  of  nations,  biographies,  scientific 
works,  on  astronomy,  etc.  Libraries  are  filled  with  the  choicest 
books,  and  every  one  can  select  something  that  will  not  only  enter- 
tain but  be  instructive  and  useful. 

Every  young  man  should  take  a  newspaper  or  two,  and  a  maga- 
zine, if  he  can  possibly  afford  it.  There  are  but  few  who  cannot 
invest  ten  or  twelve  dollars  in  papers  and  books  each  year.  If  all 
the  little  needless  expenses  were  cut  off,  it  will  be  found  to  cost  no 
self-denial,  no  sacrifice  whatever.  If  a  young  man  wishes  to  keep 
up  with  the  timas  and  kaow  all  the  important  events  that  are  pass- 
ing daily  around  the  world,  he  must  take  a  paper  or  he  will  miss  in- 
formation that  is  of  great  advantage  for  him  to  know.  He  will  miss 
opportunities  that  he  cannot  afford  to  miss.  Newspapers  are  being 
introduced  into  public  schools,  and  instead  of  reading  what  hap- 
pened a  thousand  years  ago,  they  read  what  happened  yesterday, 
and  last  night,  fresh  by  telegraph  from  all  principal  points,  coun- 
tries and  cities  in  the  world.  Reading  history,  page  by  page,  day 
by  day,  as  the  events  transpire.  A  live  newspaper  is  the  best  of  his- 
tories. One  need  not  wait  until  he  is  ten  or  twenty  years  older  to 
learn  what  happened  yesterday,  or  away  back  a  week,  or  a  month. 
There  are  people  who  isolate  themselves  from  all  society,  live  in  the 
woods  and  think  they  are  very  wise.  They  look  at  a  paper  as  they 
would  at  a  mad  dog,  as  something  terrible.  Handle  it  as  they  would 
a  rattlesnake,  with  tongs.  We  meet  such  persons  sometimes.  We 
laugh  to  hear  them  talk ;  we  cannot  help  it.  We  pity  them  more. 
A  man  who  thinks  he  can  keep  up  with  the  times  without  a  news- 
paper is  simply  a  fool.  We  pity  the  children  brought  up  in  such 
homes.  Do  not  fail  to  read  the  papers.  They  are  the  best  educa- 
tors. The  expense  is  trifling.  There  is  no  family  but  what  wastes 
ten  times  the  cost  of  a  good  weekly  paper  every  year.  Thousands 
of  families  spend  foolishly  more  than  the  cost  of  half  a  dozen  good 
papers.  If  they  used  one  thousandth  part  of  the  financial  ability 
that  the  man  we  knew  of,  did  to  take  his  family  to  the  circus, 
they  could  be  well  supplied  with  choice  reading  material.  And 
this  is 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  47 

HOW  THE  MAN  WENT  TO  THE  CIRCUS. 

With  the  class  of  people  that  never  take  a  paper,  nothing  stirs 
them  equal  to  a  circus  bill.  They  commence  planning  weeks  be- 
forehand to  get  the  change  ready  when  the  circus  man  comes 
around.  A  family  of  this  kind  live  in  Texas.  The  man  had  been 
to  market  several  times  with  butter,  eggs  and  "  sich,"  to  secure  the 
sum  of  money  required.  The  circus  day  arrived,  and  with  the  com- 
bined mathematical  talent  of  the  household,  they  coulcl  not  cipher 
out  the  problem ;  the  whole  tickets  and  half  tickets,  and  extras  for 
reserved  seats ;  the  uncertainty  of  who  was  over  and  who  was  under 
twelve  years  of  age,  was  too  much  for  them.  The  problem  was 
unsolved.  An  extra  roll  of  butter,  some  eggs  and  a  calf  skin  were 
taken  along  to  make  sure.  Pater  familias  presented  himself  with  his 
family  before  the  ticket-vender,  to  be  "  counted  up"  and  "  rated." 
The  total  cost  came  to  just  seventy-five  cents  more  than  the  cash 
capital  in  hand.  Here  was  a  dilemma.  Who  was  to  be  left  out  ? 
Not  one  would  pull  the  straws — draw  lots — in  a  game  of  such  mag- 
nitude. It  was  the  first  circus  for  six  months,  and  nobody  could  tell 
when  any  other  would  be  around,  and  then  this  was  Barnum's,  the 
"  greatest  show  on  earth."  Curb-stone  brokers  were  not  around  with 
funds  to  loan.  A  desperate  move  must  be  made.  The  band  struck 
up,  and  ravishing  strains  of  music  were  wafted  out  from  under  and 
over  the  canvas ;  the  howling  and  growling  of  the  animals,  and  the 
squealing  of  the  monkeys,  all  came  in  on  the  chorus,  making  the 
children  crazy  to  be  there.  Every  moment's  delay  was  so  much  pre- 
cious enjoyment  and  sight-seeing  lost.  The  father  was  equal  to  the 
occasion,  and  he  made  the  quickest  time  he  ever  made  in  his  life, 
down  town.  He  rushed  into  a  pawn-broker's  shop  all  out  of  breath, 
and  made  known  his  important  business  quickly.  He  must  have 
seventy-five  cents  right  then  and  there.  "  Take  anything  you  please 
for  security,  even  to  the  shirt"  The  pawn-broker  selected  the 
"boots,"  and  off  went  the  boots;  and  with  the  swiftness  of  a  deer  he 
was  back  and  standing  at  the  tent  door  to  see  his  numerous  progeny 
pass  in  before  him ;  then  in  his  bare  feet  he  brought  up  the  rear,  the 
proudest  man  in  Sherman  that  day.  That  was  financiering  that 
could  not  be  surpassed.  Had  that  man  been  educated  to  business 
he  would  have  made  his  mark  in  the  world.  The  old  saying  was 
well  exemplified,  u  Where  there's  a  will  there's  a  way." 


48  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

IMPROVING  LITERATURE. 

u  What  do  you  read  ?"  said  Mr.  James  T.  Field,  upon  a  visit  to  the 
Boston  boy  fiend,  Jesse  Pomeroy,  convicted,  among  other  atrocities, 
of  the  murder  of  three  children.  "  Mostly  one  kind,"  was  the  re- 
ply, "  mostly  dime  novels."  "  And  what  is  the  best  book  you  have 
read  ?"  "  Well,"  he  replied,  "  I  like  '  Buffalo  Bill'  best.  It's  full  of 
murders  and  pictures  about  murders."  "  And  how  do  you  feel  after 
reading  it  ?"  "  O,  I  feel  as  if  I  wanted  to  go  and  do  the  same." 

Since  writing  what  we  have  on  Fiction,  we  fortunately  came 
across  the  following  editorials,  which  we  have  clipped  from  The 
Congregationalist,  published  at  Boston,  Mass.,  one  of  the  best  and 
most  reliable  papers  of  the  Christian  press.  Read  what  it  says, 
and  see  if  we  have  said  one  word  too  much  of  the  terrible  evils  re- 
sulting from  dime  novels,  and  all  that  class  of  trashy  literature : 

"WHAT  SOME  BOYS  READ. 

"  The  young  lady  teacher  of  a  Sabbath  School  class  of  boys,  in  a 
New  York  city  church,  proposing  to  present  her  scholars  with  a 
Christmas  gift  of  books,  asked  them  to  hand  in  the  names  of  the 
volumes  they  would  like  best.  Two  applied  for  "  Robinson  Crusoe," 
and  one  for  u  Swiss  Family  Robinson ;"  but  to  her  surprise  there  was 
a  decided  majority  of  votes  for  "  Indians."  The  Ponca  delegation 
were  around,  and  the  lady  surmised  that  sundry  newspaper  para- 
graphs might  have  interested  her  charge  in  them.  But  on  looking 
into  the  matter  more  closely,  she  found  that  not  the  fate  of  Standing 
Bear,  Mr.  Woodworker,  nor  even  of  Bright  Eyes  herself,  had  wrought 
on  their  young  hearts.  One  of  the  class  had  somehow  captured, 
and  had  shown  to  the  rest,  a  regular  "blood  and  thunder"  story  of 
the  "  dime"  order,  replete  with  gore  shed  in  night  assaults,  with 
tomahawks  and  scalping  knives ;  and  the  hair-lifting  perusal  each 
boy  wanted  to  enjoy  alone  and  at  leisure. 

"  These  boys  were  not  ragamuffins  either,  but  members  of  respecta- 
ble households ;  the  church  being  on  Fifth  Avenue,  and  one  of  the 
wealthiest  in  the  city.  No  wonder  that  something  of  a  damper  was 
thrown  on  the  fair  teacher's  plan  for  putting  a  useful  class  of  books 
where  they  would  do  the  most  good ;  but  the  practical  lesson  in  boy 
nature  may  be  to  her  a  fair  compensation.  The  question  as  to  how 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  49 

much  those  boys'  parents  knew  of  their  tastes  in  books,  and  how 
much  they  did  or  failed  to  do  in  shaping  them,  is  a  suggestive  one. 
How  about  your  boy?" 

And  again  a  few  days  later: 

"  By  a  singular  coincidence  the  brief  editorial  in  our  issue  of  Jan- 
uary 28,  on  What  Some  Boys  Read,  received  a  striking  corroboration 
"on  the  very  day  the  article  went  to  our  readers.  At  two  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  28th,  three  runaway  boys  from  Worcester,  aged 
eleven,  twelve,  and  thirteen  years,  were  arrested  in  the  streets  of  New 
York,  armed  with  revolvers  and  a  clasp-knife,  and  carrying  for 
stores  a  can  of  oysters,  smoking  and  chewing  tobacco,  fishing  lines 
and  hooks,  a  song-book,  and  one  or  two  murderous  Indian  tales. 
When  questioned,  it  came  out  that  they  had  stolen  twelve  dollars, 
and  with  the  remaining  eight  and  a  quarter  of  it,  were  making  their 
way  to  Colorado  and  the  mountain  territories  beyond,  with  bloody 
intent,  to  exterminate  the  Indians.  Their  opportune  capture  gives 
the  gentle  savages  a  longer  lease  of  life,  and  affords  the  government 
an  opportunity  still  to  do  them  justice.  But  what  of  the  boys — their 
reading,  the  molding  influences  thus  early  mastering  them,  their 
probable  future  ?  And  what,  by  the  way  of  prevention  or  remedy, 
is  to  be  done  with  men  who  so  abuse  the  press,  to  the  perversion  and 
poisoning  of  such  unripe  minds  ?  Must  this  vile  corrupting  process 
go  on  forever  ?" 

We  also  take  from  the  same  paper,  the  following,  which  appeared 
as  editorial  on  February  25th  last,  in  relation  to  the  same  subject: 

"Two  more  illustrations  of  the  natural  outcome  of  the  "Jack 
Sheppard"  sort  of  reading,  so  freely  furnished  for  boys,  have  come 
to  light  within  a  week  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York.  At  Milton,  a 
little  way  up  the  Hudson,  three  boys,  aged  respectively  thirteen, 
eleven  and  ten  years,  got  access  to  the  closed  summer  home  of  a 
New  York  lady,  stole  whatever  took  their  fancy,  and  reveled  for  a 
week  on  her  stores  of  fruits,  preserves,  etc.  Not  content  with  this, 
they  showed  their  manly  independence  by  destroying  the  mirrors, 
curtains,  and  such  other  property  as  they  could  not  use. 

"  At  the  same  time  another  and  larger  gang,  some  of  them  not 

over  ten  years  old,  under  the  leadership  of  a  "big  boy"  captain,  a 

little  older,  were  "  working"  the  stores  and  dwellings  of  Jersey  City 

Heights  in  regular  burglar  style;  the  little  fellows  being  thrust 

4 


50  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

through  the  fanlight,  or  a  broken  pane,  and  passing  out  the  plunder, 
which  was  taken  to  a  thief's  den  near  by,  kept  by  an  imitation 
"Fagin,"  who  disposed  of  it,  and  gave  the  young  scamps  an  occa- 
sional dime.  But  the  boys  are  of  reputable — some  of  them  of 
wealthy — families,  and  evidently  plied  this  secret  trade  by  night 
rather  for  the  romance,  than  the  profit  of  it. 

"  Now  what  of  the  parents  who  allowed  them  to  form  such  asso-- 
ciations  and  tastes,  and  then  did  not  know  whether  or  not  they  were 
in  their  beds  from  midnight  to  morning?  It  is  abominable  that 
men  should  be  allowed  to  print  and  circulate  stuff  so  ruinous  in  its 
tendency;  but  it  does  seem  as  if  watchful  parents  might  so  pre- 
occupy the  minds  of  their  boys  with  something  better,  as  to  keep 
them  from  ripening  into  criminals  before  they  reach  their  teens." 

Read  what  a  poor  heathen  in  Africa  thought  of  the  power  there 
is  in  a  good  book  to  influence  a  brute — a  dog : 

"  When  Robert  Moffatt,  the  missionary,  was  in  England  he  told 
an  amusing  story  of  a  poor  African,  who  lived  near  one  of  the  mis- 
sionary settlements,  and  whose  dog,  by  some  accident,  had  got  pos- 
session of  a  Testament  in  the  native  language,  and  had  torn  it  to 
pieces,  devouring  some  of  the  leaves.  The  man  came  to  the  mis- 
sionaries in  great  dismay  and  laid  his  case  before  them.  He  said 
that  the  dog  had  been  a  very  useful  animal,  and  had  helped  to  pro- 
tect his  property  by  guarding  it  from  wild  beasts,  and  also  in  hunting 
and  destroying  them ;  but  he  feared  it  would  now  be  useless.  The 
missionary  asked  him  how  this  was.  As  for  the  injury  done,  that 
was  but  an  accident,  and  the  Testament  could  be  replaced  by  an- 
other copy.  '  That  is  true,'  said  the  poor  man, '  but  still  I  am  afraid 
the  dog  will  be  of  no  further  use  to  me.  The  words  of  the  New 
Testament  are  full  of  love  and  gentleness,  and  after  the  dog  has 
eaten  them,  it  is  not  likely  that  he  will  hunt  or  fight  for  me  any 
more.' " 

The  Illustrated  Christian  Weekly,  of  March  6,  1880,  also  says : 
"  Parents  and  guardians  who  neglect  their  sacred  duty  of  directing 
the  intellectual  as  well  as'material  diet  of  their  children,  are  having 
frequent  and  painful  reminders  of  the  dangers  they  incur.  The  re- 
cent report  of  young  burglars,  highwaymen,  and  suicides,  have 
shocked  the  community,  but  in  every  case  the  fact  has  appeared  that 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  51 

the  reading  of  clime  novels  and  Boys'  Papers  have  incited  them  to 
their  crimes.  Reckless  dealers  in  poison  are  held  to  strict  account 
by  the  law.  Why  should  these  wilful  corrupters  of  youthful  imagi- 
nations be  exempt  from  the  responsibility  of  their  heinous  business  ?  " 

At  a  recent  dedication  of  a  branch  of  the  Boston  Public  Library, 
in  Dorchester,  Mass.,  William  T.  Adams  (Oliver  Optic)  said: 

"  When  I  began  to  write  stories  for  the  young,  I  had  a  distinct 
purpose  in  my  mind.  How  well  I  remember  the  books  I  read  un- 
known to  my  parents,  when  I  was  a  boy!  They  were  'The  Three 
Spaniards,'  'Alonzo  and  Melissa,'  'The  Mysteries  of  Udolpho,'  'Ri- 
naldo  Rinaldini,'  'Freemantle,  the  Privateersman, '  and  similar 
works,  not  often  found  at  the  present  time  on  the  shelves  of  the 
booksellers,  though  I  am  sorry  to  say,  their  places  have  been  filled 
with  books  hardly  less  pernicious.  The  hero  of  these  stories  was  a 
pirate,  a  highwayman,  a  smuggler,  or  a  bandit.  He  was  painted  in 
glowing  colors,  and  in  admiring  his  boldness,  my  sympathies  were  with 
this  outlaw  and  outcast  of  society.  These  books  were  bad,  very  bad,  be- 
cause they  brought  the  reader  in  sympathy  with  evil  and  wicked  men. 
*****/  am  willing  to  admit  that  I  have  sometimes  been 
more  sensational  than  I  now  icish  I  had  been." 

GOOD  BOOKS  TO   READ. 

"  God  be  thanked  for  books.  They  are  the  voices  of  the  distant 
and  the  dead,  and  make  us  heirs  of  the  spiritual  life  of  past  ages." 
— Ohanning. 

"A  library  is  not  like  a  dead  city  of  stones,  yearly  crumbling  and 
needing  repair,  but  like  a  spiritual  tree.  There  it  stands,  and  yields 
its  precious  fruit  from  year  to  year,  and  from  age  to  age." — Garlyle. 

Would  you  be  delighted  to  hear  the  roar  of  cannon,  the  clash  of 
armies,  the  shouts  of  victory,  the  groans  of  the  dying;  to  wade 
through  rivers  of  human  blood;  to  scale  the  Alps;  to  follow  a  de- 
feated army  in  its  retreat  from  Moscow  in  the  deep  snows  of  a  ter- 
ribly cold  winter,  harrassed  by  an  army  foaming  with  rage,  mad- 
dened over  their  city  in  ashes,  rendering  thousands  homeless;  to  see 
the  dead  corpses  of  fifteen  thousand  soldiers,  of  an  army  of  forty 
thousand  men,  lining  the  way,  the  snow  their  only  winding 


52  .     KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

and  their  grave!  If  you  have  a  taste  for  scenes  of  this  class,  read 
"Abbott's  Napoleon."  So  vividly  will  all  the  scenes  come  before 
you,  that  your  blood  will  almost  curdle  in  your  veins. 

Do  you  wish  to  see  Old  Mexico,  and  revel  in  the  halls  of  the 
Montezumas?  Prescott  will  conduct  you  safely  there  and  back. 
You  may  prefer  a  cooler  climate,  or  a  trip  to  the  north  pole;  Dr. 
Kane  will  welcome  you  to  a  journey  with  him,  and  take  you  where 
eternal  silence  reigns  supreme,  and  night  hangs  her  sable  curtain 
for  two  long  months  in,  the  year,  and  it  is  twilight  for  nearly  four 
months  additional ;  to  feast  on  polar  bear  steak,  and  drink  train  oil 
by  the  gallon. 

Perhaps  you  would  prefer  an  serial  voyage,  and  to  soar  away  from 
earthly  delights  ?  Prof.  Mitchell  awaits  your  coming.  The  chariot 
is  ready  for  the  trip  to  the  most  remote  star.  He  will  gladly  guide 
you  to  other  worlds  and  systems,  through  the  unexplored  regions  of 
infinite  space,  on  a  voyage  requiring  centuries  to  make  the  tour.  If 
you  are  timid  and  have  not  the  time  to  spare  for  so  grand  a  journey, 
an  underground  trip  may  suit  you  better;  Prof.  Winchell  will 
conduct  you  down  to,  and  through  earth's  mysterious  chambers,  and 
read  to  you  of  the  ages  past,  when  life  was  unknown ;  of  the  inter- 
vening centuries  before  man  appeared  upon  the  earth;  or  Hugh 
Miller  will  be  delighted  to  sit  down  with  you,  with  his  little  ham- 
mer in  hand,  to  crack  the  rocks  and  read  up  their  testimony,  and 
he  will  also  tell  you  what  he  knows  of  the  old  red  sandstone. 

Africa  may  have  a  charm  for  its  wealth,  its  diamond  fields.  You 
may  prefer  to  join  an  exploring  expedition  to  determine  the  source 
of  the  Nile.  If  so,  Mungo  Park,  Cameron,  Baker,  Livingstone,  and 
Stanley,  are  ready  to  give  you  their  experience  in  that  dark  land, 
over  which  the  shadow  of  ignorance  and  superstition  hangs  like  a 
pall. 

The  Holy  Land  has  been  carefully  studied,  explored  and  surveyed 
by  the  best  classic  scholars  of  the  age.  Jerusalem  and  its  environs 
have  been  described  most  graphically.  Robinson,  Smith,  Thomp- 
son and  others,  will  give  you  their  experience  and  travels.  A  run 
down  to  Egypt  and  a  look  at  the  pyramids  may  not  be  uninteresting. 
The  problem  as  to  the  science  of  astronomy  having  been  well  under- 
stood at  the  time  of  their  building  six  thousand  years  before  the 
Christian  era  is  still  unsolved.  Layard  will  tell  you  of  the  wonders 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  53 

he  has  exhumed  from  Ninevah  and  Babylon,  two  of  the  most  re- 
markable ancient  cities  of  the  old  world,  with  walls  one  hundred 
feet  high,  and  eighty  feet  thick ;  with  fifteen  hundred  towers,  two 
hundred  feet  high  at  intervals  along  the  wall. 

When  you  have  become  interested  in  and  familiar  with  the  works 
published  in  relation  to  the  world  and  its  inhabitants,  we  think  you 
will  not  feed  on  novels  of  the  "  dime"  order. 


HEALTH. 

Of  all  the  blessings  in  this  life,  none  are  of  so  great  value  as  good 
health.  A  young  man  possessed  of  a  robust  frame,  a  strong  consti- 
tution, free  from  any  hereditary  disease,  has  a  fortune  that  he  cannot 
afford  to  be  careless  or  indifferent  about.  It  is  a  prize  that  cannot 
be  estimated  by  any  human  arithmetic,  or  valued  by  gold  piled 
high  enough  on  the  scales  to  make  an  equivalent.  It  is  a  priceless 
treasure.  No  wealth,  no  rank,  no  position,  can  equal  it  in  value. 
All  the  united  and  combined  treasures  of  the  world  cannot  compare 
with  the  value  of  good  health. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  jsvery  one  should  rightfully 
estimate  its  worth,  that  they  may  exercise  the  most  diligent  watch- 
fulness, that  it  may  not  slip  from  them,  or  be  prematurely  injured  or 
lost.  Eveiy  fountain  of  pleasure,  every  enjoyment  in  life,  is  marred 
when  there  is  pain. 

To  be  free  from  pain  for  a  single  day,  some  would  give  thousands 
of  dollars.  Millions  of  money  are  spent  annually  by  invalids 
hunting  for  the  fountain  of  eternal  youth ;  sparing  no  expense 
or  time  traveling  up  and  down  the  earth,  hoping  to  find  a  cli- 
mate that  will  bring  back  health.  No  one  can  be  successful  in 
active  business  life  if  he  has  a  broken  down  constitution,  that  is 
continually  demanding  his  care  and  attention.  It  interrupts  all 
plans  of  business  or  pleasure,  causing  great  disappointment  when 
least  prepared  to  meet  it.  Only  those  who  have  once  enjoyed  per- 
fect health  and  lost  it,  know  its  value. 


54  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

GOOD  LIVING. 

Good  living  consists  in  eating  good  wholesome  food,  well  cooked, 
three  times  a  day.  Remember,  we  eat  not  for  the  simple  pleasure  of 
eating,  but  to  nourish  the  system,  to  repair  the  injury,  loss  and  waste 
that  is  going  on  continually.  The  blood,  the  brains,  the  bones,  and 
the  muscles,  call  for  fresh  supplies  to  keep  them  satisfied,  healthy, 
hearty,  strong.  Each  one  requires  a  special  diet,  and  will  not  ac- 
cept of  any  substitute.  If  it  is  not  supplied  it  suffers,  and  other 
parts  are  compelled  to  submit  to  loss.  Oat-meal  is  classed  as  one 
of  the  best  articles  of  food  for  health,  and  superior  for  developing 
brain  power.  It  has  been,  and  is  to-day,  the  standard  article  of  food 
with  the  Scotch,  and  where  is  the  nation  that  has  produced  greater 
men  intellectually  than  Scotland.  Not  less  than  one  thousand  bar- 
rels of  oat-meal  are  shipped  from  Iowa  every  day  in  the  year  to 
Scotland.  That  which  produces  good  blood  and  a  healthy  constitu- 
tion, is  what  everyone  should  eat.  If  properly  cooked  and  eaten 
slowly,  thoroughly  masticated  and  mixed  with  the  saliva,  one  never 
need  to  have  the  dyspepsia  or  any  other  ills. 

But  if  you  are  too  lazy  to  take  care  of  yourself,  and  indulge  your 
appetite,  you  can  be  assured  that  you  will  have  all  the  ills  flesh  is 
heir  to,  gratis. 

CLEANLINESS. 

Nothing  conduces  so  much  to  good  health  as  cleanliness.  Noth- 
ing but  free  use  of  soap  and  water  will  keep  one's  person  in  a 
healthy  condition.  Every  person  should  bathe  as  often  as  once  a 
week,  and  in  warm  weather  several  times  a  week.  It  is  absolutely 
necessaiy  that  the  pores  be  kept  open,  thereby  increasing  the  vigor 
of  the  system  and  fortifying  it  against  disease.  We  always  prefer  a 
good  bath  in  the  coldest  of  weather  if  we  are  to  ride  all  day  in  a 
carriage. 

A  warm  bath  followed  by  a  dash  of  cold  water  all  over,  with 
thorough  rubbing  with  crash  towels  until  a  warm  glow  is  felt  all 
over,  with  a  few  gymnastic  exercises,  and  the  system  returns  to  its 
normal  state,  and  the  rigor  of  a  long  cold  ride  is  greatly  relieved 
without  the  least  danger  of  taking  cold.  Some  fifty  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen took  baths  at  the  Hot  Springs,  Ark.,  in  water  from  90°  to 


JCENT'8  N.EW  COMMENTARY.  5& 

100°  Fahrenheit,  on  a  very  cold  day  when  the  ground  was  frozen, 
and  we  all  went  on  our  journey,  and  not  one  suffered  in  the  least 
from  the  bath.  A  lazy  person  is  sure  to  take  cold,  simply  because 
he  is  too  lazy  to  rub  himself  and  bring  the  blood  to  the  surface.  If 
your  feet  are  inclined  to  perspire,  you  cannot  be  too  careful  about 
keeping  them  clean,  and  not  wearing  socks  without  changing  often. 
Nothing  is  more  offensive  than  the  perspiration  absorbed  into  the 
sock,  and  then  warmed  up  to  fever  heat.  We  have  had  persons  to 
dine  with  us,  the  odor  of  whose  feet  was  sickening. 

THE   BEST   MEDICINE. 

The  best  remedy  for  a  young  man  is  plenty  of  water,  internally 
and  externally.  We  never  take  any  physic.  There  is  no  necessity 
for  it.  We  can  tell  you  a  remedy  worth  a  thousand  dollars  for  you 
to  know.  When  you  are  in  need  of  a  cathartic  or  are  bilious,  take  a 
hot  bath,  as  hot  as  you  can  endure  it,  followed  by  a  dash  of  cold 
water,  when  there  should  be  work,  and  lively  at  that.  Rub  yourself 
until  your  flesh  burns,  and  be  sure  to  rub  well.  One  application 
will  do  you  more  good  than  a  carload  of  pills.  If  you  have  not 
strength  for  the  work,  get  some  one  to  help  you.  A  bath  once  a  week 
will  be  all  that  is  necessary.  If  the  bowels  and  liver  have  become 
dormant,  friction  upon  the  surfaces  will  restore  them  to  healthy 
action ;  medicine  will  not  do  it.  Remember  that  in  taking  medicine 
the  dose  must  be  increased  a  little  every  time.  A  tumbler  of  water 
every  morning,  an  hour  before  eating,  will  keep  your  bowels  regu- 
lated. Fruit  is  good  and  lemons  are  excellent,  but  no  sugar,  nothing 
but  the  lemon  juice  and  water.  If  you  can  not  sleep  at  night,  get 
up  and  take  a  towel  and  rub  yourself  well,  and  you  will  drop  to  sleep 
immediately.  The  philosophy  of  it  is  simply  this,  that  certain  parts 
of  the  body  are  over-tired,  and  by  rubbing  the  blood  is  put  in  a 
healthy  circulation  throughout  the  entire  system.  When  all  parts 
are  waked  up  by  its  flow,  all  will  rest  harmoniously,  and  sleep  is  the 
natural  result.  Water  is  the  best  medicine,  it  is  the  cheapest.  If 
everyone  would  use  plenty  of  water  they  would  have  little  use  for 
medicine  or  doctors.  To  keep  the  pores  open,  frequent  bathing  is 
necessary.  When  a  person  is  tired  and  weary  he  stops  work  and  lies 
down  to  rest.  That  is  just  what  the  stomach  and  organs  of  digestion 
require.  They  become  tired  by  overwork,  and  need  rest  and  must 


56  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

have  it,  or  there  will  be  damages  to  pay  for.  One-half  of  the  sick- 
ness is  caused  by  over-work  or  over-eating,  or  by  eating  indigestible 
food.  The  crowding  down  ill-masticated  food  without  the  proper 
mixing  of  the  saliva,  and  washing  it  down  with  cold  ice-water,  or  iced- 
milk  and  tea,  thus  reducing  the  temperature  of  the  stomach  twenty  or 
thirty  degrees  below  where  digestion  begins  its  process  of  converting 
into  chyme — to  blood — is  a  dangerous  proceeding.  Late  suppers, 
with  food  as  difficult  to  digest  as  pig  lead,  will  ruin  the  strongest 
constitution.  The  whole  system  becomes  gorged  and  breaks  down, 
and  the  wheels  stop.  Then  comes  the  forcing  process,  and  stimu- 
lants, bitters,  beer,  whisky,  etc.,  are  freely  imbibed,  driving  on  the 
poor  tired  organs  to  greater  efforts. 

The  horseback  rider,  to  increase  the  speed  of  his  animal,  applies 
the  whip  and  spur,  urging  the  horse  until  he  drops  dead  in  his 
tracks.  Drinking  bitters  and  whisky  is  the  whip  and  spur  to  the 
stomach.  The  horse  that  is  constantly  ridden  at  the  top  of  his  speed 
under  the  cruel  goading  of  whip  and  spur,  becomes  accustomed  to 
the  forcing  process,  and  will  after  a  while  not  move  without.  We 
have  all  seen  horses  with  great  scars  and  welts  where  the  whip  and 
spurs  have  lacerated  the  flesh.  If  some  of  the  old  whisky  soakers 
could  for  once  see  the  inside  of  their  stomachs,  they  would  find  it 
all  covered  with  patches,  scabs  and  sores,  the  delicate  covering  de- 
stroyed. When  the  stomach  gets  into  that  state  it  loses  its  natural 
power  to  crave  food,  and  nothing  but  an  artificial  stimulant  will  re- 
store the  appetite.  The  mouth  tastes  bad  on  rising  in  the  morning, 
so  the  morning  dram  must  be  had  before  breakfast.  It  becomes  a 
disease.  The  true  way  is  to  let  the  stomach  rest ;  refrain  from  eating 
as  much  as  possible.  The  system  will  return  to  its  normal  condition 
of  itself. 

Thousands,  who  have  the  money  and  time,  visit  Saratoga  Springs 
to  recuperate.  What  do  they  do  there  ?  Well,  the  first  thing  is  to 
get  up  early  in  the  morning  and  go  to  the  springs,  and  drink  one  to 
five  glasses  of  water.  Then,  exercising  an  hour  before  they  take 
breakfast.  The  great  point  of  emulation  is  to  see  who  can  drink 
the  most  water.  Now,  if  the  same  parties  would  drink  good  cold 
water  every  morning  at  home,  they  would  be  just  as  well  off  and 
save  at  least  a  trip  to  Saratoga  and  $5  a  day  expense.  The  same 
people  would  not  dare  to  drink  a  tumbler  full  of  cold  water  at  home 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  57 

in  the  morning;  it  would  be  dreadful.  That  there  is  great  virtue  in 
drinking  Saratoga  water  ea/rly  in  the  morning  we  have  the  fullest  as- 
surance, and  also  that  anywhere  else  there  is  nothing  equal  to  drink- 
ing good  water  an  hour  before  breakfast.  Water  is  a  tonic.  It  tones 
lip  the  stomach,  cools  down  the  fever  heat,  and  passes  off  through 
the  kidneys  readily. 

BEWARE   OF   THE   DOCTORS. 

"I  feel  It  not!"— "Then  take  it  every  hour." 
"It  makes  me  worse!"— "Why,  then  it  shows  its  power." 
"I  fear  to  die!" — "Let  not  your  spirits  sink, 
You're  always  safe  while  you  believe  and  drink." 

"Can  the  patient  pay? 
And  will  he  swallow  draughts  until  his  dying  day?" 

If  you  take  proper  care  of  yourself,  are  temperate  in  all  things, 
and  do  not  become  exposed  to  sudden  changes  of  weather  without 
dressing  accordingly,  you  will  never  need  any  medicine,  unless  you 
meet  with  some  accident,  in  which  case  only  a  surgeon  can  treat 
you.  But  remember  that  all  medicine  is  poison,  or  it  would  have  no 
effect.  The  most  deadly  poisons  are  given  as  remedies  by  all  lead- 
ing physicians. 

A  few  years  ago  one  Dr.  E.  J.  Fountain  conceived  he  had  discov- 
ered the  matchless  sanative  for  all  human  ills,  and  was  writing  up 
its  virtues.  Dr.  F.  lectured  before  an  eastern  medical  society,  di- 
lating upon  the  great  medicinal  virtues  of  his  new  discovery.  A 
physician  in  New  Jersey  heard  the  lecture  and  became  a  disciple. 
He  gave  his  first  patient  the  prescribed  dose.  The  second  dose  was 
the  last,  ami  resulted  in  the  death  of  the  patient.  The  physician  was 
prosecuted  for  manslaughter  or  mal-practice.  He  wrote  to  Dr.  Foun- 
tain asking  him  to  furnish  him  with  all  the  facts  in  connection  with 
his  practice;  for  all  the  information  possible.  This  was  just  what 
Dr.  Fountain  desired,  and  he  was  too  glad  to  do  so.  It  would  bring 
him  at  once  before  the  public  and  his  reputation  would  be  estab- 
lished as  one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  the  country.  He  secured 
the  reputation.  To  be  a  better  witness,  Dr.  Fountain  took  about  six 
doses  in  one  to  prove  it  was  a  safe  remedy.  He  stepped  into  the 
store  of  a  well  known  druggist  and  requested  him  to  weigh  out  the 
specified  amount,  which  was  one-half  ounce  of  chlorate  of  potasm . 


58  RENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

It  was  weighed  with  the  most  scrupulous  care — that  there  should  be 
no  mistake  as  to  the  exact  ^quantity— and  the  doctor  took  it  in  the 
presence  of  the  druggist,  and  bade  him  to  make  a  record  of  the  fact. 
The  doctor  started  homeward,  and  meeting  a  brother  physician  told 
him  what  he  had  taken.  The  physician  remarked  to  him  that  he 
didn't  "  look  any  the  better  for  it."  Arriving  at  his  home  he  went 
immediately  to  bed,  and  for  more  than  a  week  he  suffered  untold 
agonies.  Although  he  knew  what  he  tahad  taken,  and  his  brother 
physicians  also  knew,  yet  they  couldn't  save  him  and  he  died  a  mar- 
tyr to  his  own  ignorance ;  and  thus  before  the  impending  trial  came 
on,  Dr.  Fountain  had  breathed  his  last.  The  prosecution  had  the 
best  of  it — a  dead  witness.  "  DeacfmeD  tell  no  tales."  One  dead  wit- 
ness to  them  was  worth  a  score  of  living  ones.  It  is  unusual,  we  be- 
lieve, however,  for  a  dead  witness  to  give  the  best  testimony,  as  it 
certainly  did  in  this  case. 

Dr.  Fountain  was  no  "  quack."  He  was  a  regular  graduate  of  an 
eastern  medical  college,  and  had  a  diploma.  He  was  a  thorough- 
bred old  school  practitioner,  and  a  leading  member  of  the  Scott 
County,  Iowa,  Medical  Society.  The  friends  of  many  he  had  treated, 
laid  away  in  the  cemetery,  had  no  very  pleasant  reflections  over  his 
demise.  The  unhappy  thought  would  come,  "  Have  they  been  made 
victims  of  similar  experiments?" 

You  may  be  the  subject  for  some  doctor  to  experiment  with.  There 
are  some  human  butchers  for  the  sublime  interest  and  devotion  they 
have  to  science,  who  delight  to  cut  and  slash  when  and  wherever 
they  have  the  opportunity.  We  are  reminded  of  the  surgeon  in  the 
army  who  cut  the  wrong  leg  off  of  the  wrong  man,  and  when  the 
hospital  steward  reminded  him  of  the  fact,  replied  it  was  ^a  matter  of 
no  consequence  as  it  would  have  probably  been  "  shot  off  "  in  the 
next  battle,  anyway.  Very  consoling  to  the  sick  soldier  when  he  re- 
turned to  consciousness.  We  suppose  that  science  demands  the 
slaughter  of  a  few  subjects  annually. 

The  newspapers  frequently  chronicle  some  "  Remarkable  Surgical 
Feat,"  "Triumph  of  Science,"  "  Patient  doing  as  well  as  can  be  ex- 
pected." We  have  no  doubt  about  it.  It  is  all  true  so  far  as  it  goes, 
but,  to  be  true  as  to  the  results,  a  "P.  S."  should  be  added:  "Patient 
survived  the  operation  about  two  hours,"  "  Obituary  notice  will  ap- 
pear in  our  next  issue,"  "  Fault  of  nurse,"  no  doubt.  More  than  on& 


1 8  NEW  COMMENTARY.  59 

physician  has  had  to  pay  "hush  money"  to  keep  friends  from  pros- 
ecuting for  inhuman  butchery. 

We  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  conveying  the  impression  that 
all  who  belong  to  the  medical  faculty  are  experimenters,  and  delight 
in  cutting  to  pieces  their  patients  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  a  great 
reputation  for  surgical  skill;  far  from  it.  We  know  personally 
some  noble  Christian  gentlemen  who  honor  the  profession,  and  are 
good  physicians.  They  have  the  fullest  sympathy  for  their  patients 
and  suffering  humanity  at  large.  It  is  a  noble  profession,  and  for 
that  reason  thousands  have  assumed  the  title  of  "  M.  D." — and  that 
is  why  the  country  is  over-run  with  "  quacks,"  gulling  the  people 
and  killing  more  than  they  cure.  If  your  think  you  are  ill,  and 
need  advice,  consult  a  local  physician,  not  a  traveling  mountebank 
who  is  here  to-day  and  is  gone  to-morrow.  Skilled  physicians  do  not 
need  to  travel  to  gain  practice.  It  is  merit  that  wins. 

To  be  well  and  to  remain  well  you  must  exercise  constant  daily 
care  of  the  house  you  live  in,  or  it  will  go  to  decay  long  before  there 
is  any  need  of  it.  If  you  have  a  healthy  body  and  take  proper  care 
of  it,  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  wear  out  in  25  or  30  years,  or 
why  it  should  not  last  a  century,  and  run  down  gradually  like  an 
old  clock.  Proper  food  and  exercise  should  keep  it  in  running  or- 
der at  least  75  or  80  years.  Sidney  Bartlett,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  made  a 
strong  and  vigorous  appeal  before  the  United  States  Supreme  Bench 
at  Washington,  D.  C.,  a  few  days  ago,  and  he  is  over  81  years  old. 
Our  grandfather  lived  to  be  93  years  old,  and  at  90  he  mowed  in  the 
hay  field. 

"  Avoid  in  youth  luxurious  diet, 

Restrain  the  passion's  lawless  riot; 

Devoted  to  domestic  quiet, 
Be  wisely  gay; 

So  shall  ye,  spite  of  age's  fiat, 
Resist  decay."1 

THE   CONNECTICUT   DOCTOR'S  REMEDY. 

A  Connecticnt  doctor  won  a  great  reputation  as  a  veiy  successful 
physician.  It  was  a  mystery  to  everybody  why  he  had  so  much  bet- 
ter success  than  other  doctors.  He  was  frequently  importuned  to 
reveal  the  secret,  but  always  refused  to  tell  any  one.  At  last,  how- 
ever, he  told  them  that  his  principal  medicines  were  bread  pills,  and 


60  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

his  syrups  sweetened  water.  For  years,  some  persons  had  to  have 
one  of  his  pills  every  night,  or  they  could  not  sleep.  But  when  they 
knew  the  secret,  although  cured,  they  were  so  indignant,  he  was 
obliged  to  leave  the  place.  Not  one  of  them  would  afterwards 
employ  him. 

INVALID'S  RETREAT. 

Years  ago  there  was  a  physician  residing  near  Boston,  Mass.,  who 
made  a  specialty  of  treating  invalids — ladies  who  were  not  suffering 
from  any  special  disease,  but  who  simply  needed  exercise.  He  had 
a  beautiful  carriage  in  which  he  would  invite  them  to  take  seats. 
Then  the  way  he  would  drive  would  be  a  caution.  The  carriage  was 
without  springs— set  right  down  to  the  axles.  The  way  they  hopped 
around  was  very  amusing.  They  would  cry  out,  "  Oh,  doctor,  doctor, 
you  are  killing  me ;  do  stop ;  I  shall  die."  It  was  the  only  way  he 
could  do  them  any  good.  They  would  not  take  exercise,  and  that 
was  all  they  needed,  and  when  they  took  his  prescription  they  got 
the  exercise. 

GETTING    UP   IN  THE   MORNING. 

Young  men  must  arise  in  the  morning  if  they  "mean  busi- 
ness." To  get  up  early  one  must  retire  early.  If  you  are  awake 
until  one  or  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  you  cannot  rise  early.  You 
will  be  late  to  breakfast,  late  to  business,  and  too  late  to  succeed. 
You  will  miss  the  best  chances  and  the  best  bargains.  Take  exer- 
cise, plenty  of  it.  If  your  business  is  in-doors,  you  must  take  exer- 
cise, and  you  cannot  take  too  much.  Your  system  demands  and 
must  have  it,  or  suffer  the  consequences.  Every  one  ought  to  be  out 
of  bed  an  hour,  at  least,  before  breakfast,  and  half  of  that  time  out  of 
doors.  A  walk,  a  run,  a  jump ;  go  through  with  gymnastic  exercise ; 
swing  the  arms  backward  and  forward  over  the  head ;  strike  out, 
strike  back,  any  way,  every  way,  to  wake  the  dormant  muscles  and 
send  the  blood  tingling  through  the  extremities  into  a  healthy  cir- 
culation. Last  but  not  least,  you  must  have  lung  power.  Half  of 
the  people  do  not  know  how  to  breathe.  One-half  of  their  lung 
power  is  not  brought  into  action.  "Too  lazy  to  breathe  "  is  a  saying 
which  is  too  true.  Tying  up  the  lungs  is  like  tying  up  your  knees 
in  splints,  and  undertaking  to  walk  or  work.  Many  are  hampering 
their  lungs ;  destroying  them  by  tight  lacing. 


KENT '8  NEW  COMMENTARY.  61 

HOW   TO  DEVELOP  LUNG  POWER. 

Place  a  pipe  stem  in  the  mouth  and  hold  it  fast.  Inhale  through 
the  nostrils  until  your  lungs  are  filled  to  the  utmost  capacity,  then 
"blow  off"  through  the  pipe  stem.  Repeat  it  several  times  before 
breakfast,  in  pure  air — not  the  poisoned  atmosphere  of  sleeping 
rooms,  or  fetid  air  cooked  in  the  sitting  room,  full  of  fine  dust.  Hun 
dreds  of  model  housekeepers  must  have  fresh  water  to  drink  and  to 
cook  with,  and  will  not  use  water  that  has  been  boiled  once,  but 
pour  it  off  to  have  it  fresh,  yet  never  think  of  throwing  open  the 
windows  and  doors  to  let  out  the  cooked  air,  which  has  all  the  good- 
ness baked  out  of  it,  all  the  oxygen  burned  out  of  it  by  hot  air  fur- 
naces, coal  stoves,  gas  and  oil  lamps — air  that  has  been  breathed 
over  and  over  by  a  dozen  persons  through  the  day  and  night  before, 
for  weeks  even,  robbed  of  all  its  life-giving  elixir  and  loaded  down 
with  the  deadliest  of  gases. 

Every  window  and  door  should  be  thrown  wide  open  the  coldest 
morning  in  the  year,  to  let  off  the  poisons  and  to  let  in  the  life-giv- 
ing, pure  oxygen  fresh  from  heaven.  Instead  of  doing  this  they 
cork  up  every  door  and  window  air-tight,  to  keep  in  what  should  go 
out  and  to  keep  out  what  should  come  in.  To  ward  off  diptheria, 
scarlet  fever,  pneumonia,  and  that  dreaded  of  all  diseases,  consump- 
tion, fresh  air  must  be  given  access,  or  the  doctor  will  come  in,  fol- 
lowed by  the  undertaker.  If  you  want  to  see  these  gentlemen,  cork 
up  your  houses  air-tight,  and  don't  allow  any  doors  or  windows  to 
open.  They  will  respond  to  the  call  you  will  be  sure  to  make.  Poor 
children  sleeping  under  doors  for  bed  spreads,  and  where  the  wind 
plays  waltzes  and  quicksteps  with  the  ill-fitting  windows  all  the 
night  long,  are  hearty  and  strong,  while  the  children  of  the  wealthy 
are  pale,  puny,  pulselesss  and  lifeless.  Without  pure  air  life  is  en- 
feebled, developing  a  feeble  constitution,  ready  to  break  down  under 
the  least  effort.  If  they  grow  up  it  is  only  to  suffer  for  the  sins  of 
their  parents. 

Church  sextons  often  have  but  little  sense  in  this  respect.  Instead 
of  throwing  open  the  windows  and  letting  off  the  foul  air,  they  un- 
dertake to  heat  it  over  and  over  again.  No  wonder  some  ministers 
are  dull,  and  sleepers  are  numerous.  It  is  enough  to  put  to  sleep 
seven  times  "seven  sleepers." 

But  we  have  digressed  from  our  starting  point.    The  great  secret 


62  KENT 8  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

of  building  up  a  strong  and  healthy  system  is  the  proper  develop- 
ment of  the  lungs.  Deep  breathing,  way  down — to  your  boots. 
Look  at  the  blacksmith's  bellows,  watch  the  long  sweep  of  the  lever, 
every  inch  of  space  in  the  bellows  filled  to  its  utmost  expansion.  If 
you  were  to  study  elocution,  we  think  the  first  lesson  would  be  how 
.to  breathe.  Half  of  the  people  do  not  know  how  to  breathe.  Great 
singers  and  elocutionists  understand  it.  If  they  did  not  they  would 
break  down  in  a  month.  The  muscles  of  the  chest  must  be  brought 
into  play  and  disciplined.  Proper  use  of  the  vocal  organs  is  neces- 
sary for  health.  Good  singers  and  teachers  of  elocution  increase 
their  corporeal  system  greatly  and  become  portly.  Persons  have  in- 
creased the  girth  around  the  chest  five  inches  in  six  months'  prac- 
tice, by  simply  inhaling  fresh  air  as  we  have  already  suggested,  and 
"  blowing  off"  through  a  pipe  stem. 

MINISTERS    VS.   LAWYERS. 

A  minister  stoops  over  to  read  his  manuscript ;  the  muscles  and 
chords  of  the  vocal  organs  are  compelled  to  work  under  a  brake, 
unnaturally.  The  tones  are  muffled,  guttural,  or  squeaky.  The  air 
from  the  lungs  is  loaded  with  the  rankest  of  poisons,  and  is  thrown 
against  the  windpipe,  and  the  delicate  coating  is  scorched  and  burnt 
by  the  hot  poisonous  gas,  at  a  temperature  of  100  degrees.  Sore 
throat  is  the  natural,  inevitable  result  of  such  unnatural  breathing. 
The  minister  breaks  down,  while  the  lawyer,  standing  up,  har- 
rangues  a  jury  ten  hours  a  day  for  ten  days  and  grows  fat  in  flesh 
and  fee.  The  stump  orator  speaks  a  hundred  days  in  all  kinds  of 
weather,  in-doors  and  out,  four  to  six  hours  a  day.  Actors  and  elo- 
cutionists follow  their  profession  for  years — for  a  life  time — and  do 
not  break  down.  Prof.  Churchill,  of  Andover,  Mass.,  the  best  elocu- 
tionist in  the  country,  is  quite  portly.  We  knew  him  when  a  young 
man.  He  was  slim  and  not  strong  and  hearty — net  weight  now  215 
pounds  avoirdupois.  He  has  a  deep,  rich  voice  under  perfect  control. 
Mrs.  Scott  Siddons  has  given  readings  for  years,  has  traveled  in  all 
countries  and  climes,  reading  in  ill-ventilated  rooms,  hot  and  cold, 
under  gaslights  or  tallow  candles,  yet  she  keeps  her  voice  in  nice  trim. 
The  great  vocalists,  singing  thirty  or  forty  weeks  in  a  year,  maintain 
their  voices  remarkably.  Why  is  it  that  ministers  break  down  speak- 
ing two  hours  a  week,  one  hour  at  a  time?  The  whole  secret  is 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 


63 


in  not  knowing  how  to  control  their  breathing  and  to  use  their  vocal 
organs  properly.  Singing  or  speaking  in  a  perfectly  natural  manner, 
as  nature  designed  the  organs  for  use,  is  the  most  health-giving  ex- 
ercise known.  Persons  who  are  consumptive,  with  weak  lungs  and 
feminine  voices,  have  been  cured,  and  become  healthy,  hearty  and 
rugged.  It  is  an  exploded  idea  that  singing  and  speaking  conduces 
to  lung  diseases  and  consumption.  The  entire  system  depends  on 
the  lung  power.  If  that  is  weak  the  system  is  weak,  and  if  strong, 
a  healthy  system  is  found.  Remember  and  ^practice  daily  the  rules 
for  the  development  of  lung  power ;  it  is  the  working  capital  of  the 
system,  and  success  in  any  undertaking  depends  upon  having  a  per- 
fect machine  to  do  the  work.  Your  tbody  is  the  machine  and  your 
lungs  are  the  most  prominent  and  all-important  mechanism  of  the 
system.  When  they  fail  to  do  their  work  well,  the  machine  fails  of 
doing  good  work. 


ADVICE. 

'Take  the  open  air, 

The  more  you  take  the  better; 
Follow  Nature's  lawa 

To  the  very  letter. 
Let  the  doctors  go 

To  the  Bay  of  Biscay; 
Let  alone  the  gin, 

The  braudy/and  the  whisky. 
Freely  exercise, 

Keep  your  spirits  cheerful; 
Let  no  dread  of  sickness 

Make  you  ever  fearful. 
Eat  the  simplest  food, 

Drink  the  pure,  cold  water, 
Then  you  will  be  well, 

Or  at  least  you  oughter." 


—Anonymous. 


HABITS. 

The  repeating  of  certain  'movements  or  doing  certain  acts  over 
and  over  again  an  indefinite  number  of  times,  forms  .a  habit.  If  we 
change  night  into  day,  we  cannot  sleep  at  night.  If  we  accustom 
ourselves  to  eating  at  certain  intervals,  we  shall  feel  the  cravings  of 
appetite  at  such  intervals.  The  man  who  takes  his  glass  of  "  bitters  " 
regularly  becomes  miserable  if  he  is  debarred  from  his  accustomed 
glass.  He  has  formed  a  habit  that  will  be  a  prompter  every  time 
the  clock  strikes  the  hour.  At  first  it  has  no  force  and  no  control 
over  him,  but  often  repeated,  it  accumulates  power.  One  link  is 
easily  forged  in  the  chain  of  habit,  and  by-and-by  the  chain  has  many 
links  and  it  coils  around  him  noiselessly,  and  before  he  is  aware  of 
.  it  his  feet  are  fast  in  the  fetters.  To  break  away  from  it  4s  almost  an 
impossibility.  The  habit  of  drink  takes  hold  of  its  victim  with  a 
death-like  grip.  Like  the  boa-constrictor,  it  gradually  coils  itself 
around  its  victim,  growing  tighter  at  every  round,  and  holding  him 
in  a  vice-like  grasp. 

A   HORRIBLE  DEATH. 

A  few  months  ago  in  a  foreign  city,  an  exhibition  was  given  by  a 
snake  charmer  One  part  of  the  performance  was  to  allow  the 
snake  to  coil  around  the  charmer's  body.  The  snake  coiled  around 
as  usual,  and  then  began  to  tighten  up  the  coils.  The  man  screamed 
in  agony ;  the  spectators  clapped  their  hands  and  cheered,  thinking 
it  was  but  a  part  of  the  sport;  but  when  the  poor  man's  tongue  was 
forced  out  of  his  mouth  and  his  eyeballs  from  their  sockets,  and  the 
dull  cracking  of  his  bones  was  heard  as  they  were  being  broken 
and  crushed,  then  did  they  realize  that  it  was  the  death  grip  of  the 
snake.  Once  too  often  had  the  charmer  fooled  with  his  snakeship- 
Too  late  he  realized  the  power  of  his  pet  and  his  terrible  heartless- 
ness,  his  relentless  fury  when  called  into  action. 

We  remember  well  a  man  who  came  to  our  city  poor,  but  who,  by 
hard  work  and  careful  saving  of  his  earnings,  acquired  considerable 
property.  He  had  a  good  situation,  one  that  he  could  have  held 
for  many  years  at  a  good  salary.  The  habit  of  drink  had  been 
formed,  and  after  a  while  he  began  to  feel  its  power.  He  tried  to 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  65 

break  oft*.  For  a  short  time  he  succeeded,  but  only  to  be  more  firmly 
.  bound  down  to  it.  He  tried  to  break  its  bonds.  He  begged  friends 
to  go  along  with  him  who  did  not  drink,  when  he  knew  he  had  no 
power  to  withstand  the  temptation  alone.  "  If  I  go  with  those  fel- 
lows they  will  drink  me  to  death."  When  at  last  he  found  that  no 
earthly  power  could  save  him,  he  wept  like  a  child.  Too  late  he  re- 
alized he  was  in  the  coils  of  the  demon  that  would  never  slacken  its 
hold  when  once  within  its  grasp;  on  the  other  hand  it  was  constantly 
tightening  up  its  coils  for  the  final  conflict,  which  is  sure  to  come 
at  last.  Every  bad  habit  is  a  foe  that  is  armed  to  the  very  teeth, 
to  conquer  and  overcome  which  requires  a  power  more  than  human. 

FILTHY   HABITS. 

Filthy  habits  conduce  to  a  great  amount  of  sickness.  No  one 
should  sleep  in  an  article  of  clothing  worn  through  the  day.  We 
have  heard  of  people  who  put  on  a  shirt,  and  wore  it  until  it  was 
worn  out.  Another  habit  is  not  to  respond  to  the  calls  of  nature 
daily — in  plain  language — are  too  lazy  to  visit  a  privy.  But  nature 
is  not  to  be  cheated.  The  faeces  are  taken  up  by  the  system  to  poi- 
son the  blood.  The  blood  revolts  and  throws  it  upon  the  skin,  and 
when  you  see  a  person's  face  all  covered  with  little  festering  sores, 
full  of  matter,  you  can  mark  it  down  that  that  person  has  some  low, 
filthy  and  disgusting  habits.  If  you  want  the  piles  you  can  have 
them.  If  there  is  anything  more  disgusting  and  sickening,  it  is  to 
be  brought  in  contact  with  one  of  these  people.  The  aroma  of 
skunks  would  be  a  relief  and  relish  better.  Would  that  they  could 
smell  themselves  for  once.  A  young  lady  was  recently  made  deathly 
sick  by  a  young  man  of  this, class,  who  breathed  in  her  face  at  a 
party.  She  turned  from  him  and  went  home  quite  ill  and  was  sick 
with  fever  for  weeks  in  consequence.  We  sometimes  are  seated  in 
church  beside  a  person  whose  clothing  is  loaded  clown  and  reek- 
ing with  a  stench  worse  than  a  slaughter  house,  if  that  is  possible. 
Clothing  as  well  as  the  person  must  be  ventilated,  purified  by  expo- 
sure  to  the  air  and  sunlight,  the  greatest  of  all  deodorizers.  Some 
housekeepers  throw  open  their  beds  and  windows  in  the  morning; 
others  make  up  the  beds  early  in  the  day  all  reeking  with  the 
sickly  emanations  from  the  body,  to  keep  it  in,  to  become  a  deadly 
poison  to  the  sleeper. 


66  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

GOOD   MANNEBS. 

Pleasant  address,  respectful  attention  to  every  one  rich  or  poor, 
high  or  low,  is  what  wins.  A  sour,  gruff,  surly  answer  to  questions 
asked,  never  pays  and  never  will.  A  pleasant  "Yes,  sir,"  or  "No, 
sir,"  goes  farther  than  most  young  men  think.  Acting  out  the  boor 
may  be  a  natural  trait  of  character,  but  it  don't  win. 

At  the  old  Lindell  House  in  St.  Louis,  a  gentleman  out  of  health 
stopped  a  few  weeks.  The  table  girl  who  waited  on  him  took  special 
pains  to  get  what  would  be  relished  best  by  the  sick  man.  Most 
waiters  avoid  invalids  and  do  not  care  to  wait  on  them.  She  had  a 
sympathetic  nature,  and  it  showed  itself  whenever  there  was  an  op- 
portunity. The  sick  man  left  the  hotel  and  about  a  year  after  there 
came  a  draft  to  the  table  girl  of  three  thousand,  dollar*.  The  man 
was  dead  but  her  name  was  not  forgotten  in  the  will.  It  pays  to  do 
well.  It  pays  to  be  civil. 

A  young  lad,  a  bootblack  in  the  streets  of  New  York,  obtained  a 
position  in  a  bank  by  his  pleasant  "Yes,  sir,"  "No,  sir,"  to  every- 
body. It  made  him  president  of  the  bank.  "  I  don't  know,"  "  Don't 
care,"  "None  of  my  business,"  always  pays,  "  over  the  left."  Many 
a  boy  has  been  lifted  out  of  poverty  to  affluence  in  the  end,  by  his 
gentlemanly  manners  in  his  boyhood  days. 

DRESS. 

The  style  and  neatness  of  one's  attire  have  much  to  do  with  one's 
success  in  any  respectable  calling.  A  young  man  who  is  careless  of 
his  personal  appearance,  wearing  illy-fitting  garments,  boots  slouchy 
and  run  down  at  the  heels,  a  hat  as  illy  becoming,  stands  a  very 
poor  chance  of  securing  a  first  class  situation.  It  is  the  dress  that 
in  a  degree  is  an  index  of  the  man — i.  e.  makes  the  first  impression 
on  a  stranger.  It  is  not  the  quality,  neither  is  it  the  costliness  of 
the  suit,  but  the  neatness  and  care  that  is  noticed  in  the  personal  at- 
tire at  the  very  approach.  No  merchant  will  hire  a  clerk  who  is  de- 
void of  taste  and  that  pride  which  permits  himself  to  neglect  his 
personal  appearance.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  world  at  large  judge  of  a 
person  much  by  his  dress  and  not  by  his  accomplishments.  If  a 
man  has  made  his  fortune  and  retired  from  business  and  prefers  to 
dress  like  a  boor  to  the  disgust  of  his  friends  and  in  violation  of 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  67 

the  rules  of  etiquette,  of  course  he  has  a  right  to  do  so,  but  no  gen- 
tleman will  ignore  the  good  will  of  the  community  in  which  he  re- 
sides by  wearing  outlandish  or  slovenly  apparel. 

No  young  man  can  afford  to  neglect  his  wardrobe.  If  he  prefers 
to  go  carelessly  attired,  swaggering  along,  he  had  better  go  to  some 
coal  mine  under  ground,  and  stay  there  forever,  for  he  never  can  se- 
cure a  first  class  situation  above. 

Every  one  should  dress  according  to  his  business,  and  should  be 
proud  to  wear  the  insignia  of  his  trade  or  profession.  A  brick-layer 
or  a  hod-carrier  will  not  look  well  in  a  minister's  garb,  neither  will 
a  minister  look  well  in  a  hod-carrier's  suit.  There  is  an  appropriate- 
ness in  dressing  to  the  place  you  occupy.  A  dandy  in  broadcloth, 
kid  gloves  and  stovepipe  hat  wouldn't  stand  much  of  a  chance  to 
engage  himself  to  a  farmer;  neither  would  a  farmer's  boy  be  eligi- 
ble to  a  situation  in  a  fashionable  dry  goods  store,  dressed  in  his  field 
suit.  Although  dress  plays  an  important  part  in  aiding  a  young  man 
to  secure  a  situation,  yet  it  requires  superior  qualifications  to  be  able 
to  hold  one  after  it  is  obtained.  It  is  economy  for  eveiy  young  man 
to  dress  well ;  it  is  a  recommendation  to  good  society;  it  is  a  step- 
ping stone  to  a  higher  position,  which  means,  financially,  a  better 
salary.  It  pays  to  dress  well. 


HOW  TO  DESERVE  SUCCESS. 

POLITENESS. 

"True  politeness  is  the  poor  man's  capital." 

No  accomplishment  will  atone  lorthe  want  of  genuine  politeness. 
Affable  and  courteous  manners  always  win.  Many  a  young  man  has 
won  his  way  to  success  by  uniform  politeness  to  everybody.  Snob- 
bishness don't  pay  and  never  will.  This  dropping  on  one's  knees  to 
aristocracy,  and  falling  back  on  one's  dignity  to  ordinary  people,  is 
an  exhibition  of  the  absolute  want  of  genuine  politeness.  It  is  a 
virtue  that  young  men  should  cultivate  constantly,  for  they  never 
can  tell  whose  friends  they  may  or  may  not  insult  if  they  disregard 
this  injunction.  They  are  liable  to  be  caught  as  were  some  students 
of  an  eastern  college. 

President  Nott,  of  Union  College,  found  out  that  the  boys  were 
going  to  rob  his  hen  roost,  and  so  laid  watch  for  them.  They  came 
and  one  of  them  climbed  up  and  pulled  the  chickens  down  for  his 
comrades  to  wring  their  necks.  As  he  passed  them  down,  he  named 
them  after  the  president's  daughters,  thus:  "This  is  Mary  Ann;  this 
is  Dolly;  this  is  Kate,"  etc.  At  this  juncture  the  old  doctor  made  a 
noise,  and  the  students  fled,  leaving  the  chickens  on  the  ground. 
The  following  morning  each  one  had  a  polite  invitation  to  dine  the 
next  day  with  the  president's  family.  The  chickens  had  been  nicely 
dressed,  and  the  doctor  asked  one  of  the  young  men  whether  he 
would  take  a  piece  of  "  Mary  Ann,"  or  "  Dolly."  The  shot  went 
home  and  the  students  didn't  hanker  for  chicken  just  then. 

TWO  WAYS  OF  DOING   THE   SAME  THING. 

A  young  man  entered  a  bank  as  teller  on  a  small  salary.  His 
gentlemanly  manners  and  true  politeness  made  him  very  popular. 
His  salary  was  increased  from  year  to  year.  A  rival  bank  desired 
his  services  at  a  higher  salary  and  he  changed  counters  when  his 
year  was  up.  A  third  bank  also  coveted  his  services  at  a  still  high- 
er salary  with  an  offer  of  "  three  thousand  dollars  a  year."  True 
merit  is  always  at  a  premium. 

"  Worth  makes  the  man,  the  want  of  it  the  fellow." — Pope. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY,  69 

Another  young  man  stood  behind  the  same  counter  where  the  first 
young  man  began  his  career.  He  put  on  many  airs.  It  seemed  to  be 
mortifying  to  his  aristocratic  notions  to  be  obliged  to  wait  on  ordi- 
nary customers.  A  civil  answer  was  not  always  given.  Nearly 
every  one  was  treated  with  the  most  haughty  and  heartless  indiffer- 
ence. When  a  check  was  presented  for  payment,  the  currency  would 
be  thrown  out  over  the  counter  as  though  it  was  infected  with  the 
small  pox,  and  with  an  air  that  spoke  louder  than  words  to  the  re- 
cipient, "Take  it  and  clear  out."  Sometimes  a  customer  could  not 
make  his  currency  "  tally."  "  It  is  right,  sir,"  replies  the  teller.  -De- 
positors' accounts  sometimes  fell  short  but  there  was  never  a  surplus 
with  him.  When  the  days'  balance  was  made  up  the  answer  was 
sure  to  come:  u  You  were  mistaken;  your  count  was  wrong."  Af- 
ter a  time  the  bank  directors  have  numerous  complaints  made  to 
them,  and  depositors  are  withdrawing  their  balances  and  placing 
them  elsewhere.  The  bank  is  losing  money  by  a  teller  who  acts  the 
boor;  and  finally  a  polite  intimation  is  given  the  young  man  to  hand 
in  his  resignation,  and  that  it  will  be  accepted  without  notice. 
The  morning  papers  announce  his  resignation  and  that  he  intends 
to  go  into  business  for  himself  "out  West."  Young  men  of  that 
stamp  are  just  fitted  to  be  muleteers — to  drive  jackasses  and  dwell 
with  the  brutes  all  their  days  in  some  underground  mine. 

Success  can  never  be  won  where  a  young  man  is  above  his  busi- 
ness and  treats  with  the  utmost  contempt  those  with  whom  he  must 
have  daily  business  transactions.  Monied  men  are  not  beggars  or 
town  paupers,  and  will  not  do  business  with  an  uncivil  bank  official, 
be  he  teller  or  president. 

HOTET,  CLERK. 

Thirty  years  ago  there  was  a  clerk  at  a  Fitcliburg,  Massachusetts, 
hotel,  named  Easterbrook,  who  for  politeness  probably  never  had 
his  equal.  At  least,  in  our  travel  in  eighteen  states  of  the  Union,  we 
never  met  one.  He  was  a  perfect  gentleman  to  every  guest,  rich  or 
poor,  in  broadcloth  or  homespun.  The  moment  you  stepped  into 
the  office,  he  was  ready  to  greet  you  with  a  most  cordial  welcome; 
an  only  brother  could  not  have  done  more.  All  wants  were  antici- 
pated with  such  a  genuine  brotherly  kindness,  that  one  felt  that  he 
was  in  the  house  of  his  best  friend.  At  the  depot  on  the  arrival  of 


70  KENT "8  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

trains,  his  quiet  and  gentlemanly  approach  to  a  stranger  was  so  at- 
tractive that  one  was  sure  to  accept  a  seat  in  his  coach.  No  catching 
hold  of  your  satchel  and  importuning  you  with  all  the  fierceness  of 
a  starving  hyena.  No  howling,  no  swearing  at  runners  of  other  ho- 
tels. It  was  the  perfect  gentleman  everywhere  and  all  the  time. 
When  he  secured  a  customer  he  had  a  life  lease  on  him.  It  paid 
the  hotel  proprietors,  and  paid  its  guests  with  genuine  satisfaction 
that  they  had  been  well  cared  for,  and  if  they  never  traveled  that 
way  again  they  advertised  the  house  wherever  they  journeyed. 

PLEASE   YOUU   EMPLOYERS. 

The  reason  so  many  fail  of  success  is  because  they  are  not  willing 
to  give  their  employers  all  their  time.  They  will  cutoff  at  both  ends 
and  out  of  the  middle.  Always  tardy,  always  in  haste  to  quit  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes  before  time.  A  young  man  who  cheats  his  employer 
out  of  his  rights,  cheats  himself  in  the  end.  If  there  is  an  easy  job 
to  be  done  he  never  will  get  it.  If  a  man  is  to  be  sent  out  500  or 
1,000  miles  to  set  up  a  machine,  or  on  a  collecting  tour,  he  will  not 
be  the  man  to  go.  If  a  foreman  is  wanted,  he  never  will  be  recom- 
mended for  any  better  position,  and  it  serves  him  right.  He  is  not 
worthy  of  any  place  when  he  cheats  his  employer  every  day  in  the 
year,  and  every  time  he  draws  his  wages  takes  more  than  he  has 
earned.  Nothing  but  a  selfish  interest  controls  his  entire  being. 

It  is  the  duty  and  it  is  for  the  interest  of  every  man  to  devote  his 
entire  energies  to  the  interest  of  his  employer.  Why,  we  would 
stand  on  one  foot  or  on  our  head,  if  necessary,  to  advance  the  inter- 
est of  our  employer.  When  we  could  not  do  it  we  would  quit. 
This  whining  and  growling  all  the  time  is  mean,  contemptible.  It 
exhibits  a  low,  selfish,  ill-bred  disposition.  They  are  a  class  who 
claim  that  the  world  owes  them  a  living ;  and  pray  for  what  ?  Bal- 
ance up  your  accounts ;  show  your  figures.  If  the  world  owes  you 
anything  more  than  a  decent  burial,  our  mathematical  computa- 
tions are  wrong.  A  young  man  of  that  stamp  would  see  his  employ- 
er's property  go  to  destruction,  burn  up,  before  he  would  go  ten  steps 
out  of  the  way  to  save  it.  A  man  of  this  disposition  cannot  but 
feel  mean  all  the  time.  Work  goes  hard  with  him.  A  man  that 
don't  like  the  business  of  his  employer  is  an  unprofitable  man  to 
have  at  any  price.  It  is  the  out-cropping  of  communism,  only  wait- 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  71 

ing  for  reinforcements  to  usurp  power,  to  disregard  law  and  order, 
and  to  break  down  every  safeguard  to  society.  To  enjoy  anything 
you  must  fall  in  love  with  it,  else  it  will  be  irksome,  tedious.  It 
wears  upon  the  system  like  a  machine  without  oil.  A  happy,  jovial 
disposition  makes  hard  work  easy,  light  and  devoid  of  friction. 

MAKE  YOUR  EMPLOYER'S   BUSINESS  YOURS. 

To  win  a  reputation  that  is  worth  more  than  money,  every  young 
man  should  make  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  his  employ- 
er's business.  He  should  know  it  in  all  its  details,  and  take  as  much 
interest  in  it  as  though  it  was  his  own ;  devote  his  whole  time  and 
talents  to  help  make  the  business  pay  every  dollar  possible.  You 
may  have  a  hard  place.  Your  employer  may  not  fully  appreciate 
the  full  value  of  your  services,  but  you  are  not  a  slave.  There  are 
other  places  to  fill.  Others  will  see  your  devotion  to  your  employer 
and  will  seek  to  obtain  your  services  at  a  greatly  advanced  salary. 
Unrewarded  talent  will  not  long  remain  uncompensated.  It  cannot 
be  concealed.  You  might  as  well  hold  your  hat  before  your  eyes 
and  think  you  had  shut  out  the  noon-day  sun.  Every  hour  of  faith- 
ful devotion  to  your  employer's  business  is  making  capital  for  you, 
and  is  better  than  money  deposited  in  banks. 

A  young  man  never  knows  who  may  be  watching  him.  Business 
men  have  keen  sight  They  recognize  talent  wherever  it  is  seen. 
Changes  are  constantly  going  on.  A  salesman  retires ;  another  must 
fill  the  vacancy.  Who  shall  it  be  ?  A  hundred,  five  hundred,  apply 
and  only  one  is  wanted.  The  proprietors  have  been  watching  a 
young  man  in  some  other  establishment  for  six  months.  They 
have  had  his  name  in  a  memorandum  for  that  length  of  time,  and, 
as  occasion  gave  them  opportunities,  they  have  watched  his  business 
tact  and  the  hold  he  has  on  customers.  They  employ  others  to 
"  sound  him."  His  habits  are  looked  into,  to  know  where  and  how 
"he  spends  his  evenings;  where  he  is  on  Sundays,  and  how  about  his 
vacations ;  are  they  frequent ;  and  last  but  not  least,  who  are  his  as. 
sociates  ?  These  are  all  read  up.  The  records  are  compared  and 
they  show :  First,  he  is  prompt,  always  on  hand ;  second,  his  em- 
ployer's business  is  made  his  own ;  third,  customers  will  not  buy  of 
any  one  else  if  they  can  help  it ;  fourth,  his  habits  are  correct ;  don't 
smoke,  chew  or  drink ;  never  was  seen  at  a  theatre ;  don't  play  cards 


72  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

or  billiards;  is  active  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association ; 
record,  A  No.  1,  extra.  It  is  voted  to  secure  his  services  if  he  can 
be  honorably  released  from  his  present  situation.  Salary  is  a  sec- 
ondary consideration.  The  bookkeeper  is  instructed  to  drop  him  a 
note  asking  him  to  call  at  the  counting  room  at  8  p.  M.,  which  reads 
as  follows : 

"A.  B.  &Co. 

"Importers  of  Silks,  English,  Preach  and  German  Cloths, 
"Pearl  Street. 

"BOSTON,  December  1,  1879. 

"MB.  HENRY  GRA.NDKRSON— Dear  Sir:  — If  convenient,  we  should  be  pleased 
to  have  you  call  after  business  hours  at  our  counting  room — say  8  p.  M.  Strictly 
confidential.  Yours.  A.  B.  &  CO  " 

Promptly  at  the  hour  named,  Mr.  Granderson  is  at  the  counting 
room  of  A.  B.  &.  Co.  He  is  told  that  their  head  salesman  will  leave 
on  the  first  of  January,  1880,  and  they  need  a  man  to  fill  his  place. 
That  although  they  have  hundreds  of  applicants  they  are  satisfied  he 
is  the  man  they  want,  and  if  he  is  situated  so  that  he  can  make  the 
change  without  compromising  himself,  they  are  ready  to  engage 
him.  As  far  as  salary  is  concerned,  they  will  make  it  satisfactory 
to  him.  Mr.  G.  replies  that  his  year  will  be  up  in  a  few  days,  and 
he  has  not  said  anything  to  his  firm  or  they  to  him  on  the  subject; 
he  will  confer  with  them  at  once,  and  see  them  again.  Three  clays 
later  Mr.  G.  is  at  A.  B.  &  Co.'s  office  and  informs  them  that  his 
firm  has  proposed  to  double  his  salary,  which  has  been  $5,000  for  the 
last  year,  rather  than  to  have  him  leave.  A.  B.  &  Co.  say,  "  Please 
call  to-morrow  morning  at  ten  o'clock."  Promptly  at  the  moment 
Mr.  G.  is  on  hand.  He  is  asked  to  step  into  the  private  office.  A. 
B.  &  Co.  say  that  they  have  concluded  to  make  him  a  proposition 
to  become  one  of  the  firm.  He  might  consider  his  interest  to  be 
$10,000  paid  up  capital,  and  if  he  wish  to  add  to  that  sum  he  could 
do  so.  Mr.  G.'s  name  was  added  to  the  firm.  This  may  look  a  little 
overdrawn,  but  it  is  all  literally  true;  nothing  but  the  names  are 
fictitious. 

PACIFIC  MILLS,  LAWRENCE,    MASSACHUSETTS. 

When  this  large  and  wealthy  corporation  was  ready  to  commence 
business,  at  a  directors'  meeting  the  question  came  up  as  to  where 
to  find  an  agent  to  take  charge  of  the  mills,  and  it  was  suggested 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  73 

that  each  one  should  take  special  pains  to  find  a  suitable  man  for  the 
place.  At  the  next  meeting  every  one  of  the  directors  had  found  a 
man  who  was  just  fitted  for  the  place,  and  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able coincidences  was  that  the  man  that  each  one  felt  specially 
proud  to  name,  all  the  others  had  the  same  identical  name.  So  it 
was  made  unanimous.  The  next  question  was,  could  he  be  secured. 
He  was  proprietor  of  a  small  mill  and  was  well  situated.  A  com- 
mittee was  delegated  to  engage  him  on  the  best  terms  possible,  but 
to  secure  him.  They  went  to  his  place  and  asked  him  to  name 
his  terms.  He  did  so:  to  pay  so  much  for  his  mill,  a  round  price, 
$10,000  cash  bonus  over  the  price  for  the  mill,  and  a  salary  of  $10,000 
a  year.  They  closed  the  contract  at  his  terms  at  once,  and  for  ten 
years  he  drew  his  salary  of  $10,000  a  year.  Were  it  necessary,  and 
had  we  space,  we  could  multiply  similar  cases.  There  are  hundreds 
of  men  who  are  receiving  a  better  salary  than  the  President  of  the 
United  States  receives.  There  are  a  great  many  men  who  receive  a 
thousand  dollars  a  month ;  yes,  and  there  are  millions  who  do  not 
receive  over  $15  a  month  and  board.  Why  the  difference  ? 

PUT   ON   THE   APPEARANCE   OP   BUSINESS. 

There  is  nothing  like  being  always  busy,  doing  something.  Sit- 
ting down  and  waiting  for  customers  is  no  way  to  build  up  a  trade. 
People  prefer  to  go  into  a  store  where  the  proprietor  is  so  full  of  ac- 
tivity that  it  seems  almost  impossible  for  him  to  stop  to  wait  on 
customers.  It  gives  an  impression  of  a  live  man  and  plenty  to  do. 
No  one  cares  to  go  the  second  time  where  all  is  still  as  a  graveyard, 
and  the  proprietor  looking  as  if  his  last  day  had  come,  and  moving 
about  with  a  face  as  long  as  a  yardstick,  with  a  voice  as  doleful  as 
though  he  had  been  singing,  "  Hark  from  the  tombs,"  for  a  month. 
To  a  lady  who  has  the  least  horror  for  ghosts,  such  conduct  would 
make  her  stop  as  short  as  possible,  and  never  go  there  again. 

We  knew  a  young  physician  who  opened  an  office  in  a  country 
village,  and  every  day  he  would  drive  out  ten  or  fifteen  miles  into 
the  country  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  when  he  came  back  to  the  village 
his  horse  would  be  white  with  foam.  Some  days  he  would  drive 
two  horses,  one  in  the  forenoon  and  a  fresh  one  in  the  afternoon. 
Everybody  said,  "  What  a  big  practice  our  new  doctor  has."  There 
was  not  a  farmer  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles  who  didn't  know  the 


74  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

new  doctor.  The  result  was  that  he  did  get  a  large  practice  but  for 
the  first  three  months  he  didn't  have  a  patient.  He  put  on  the  appear- 
ance of  business,  and  he  secured  what  he  sought  after. 

A  few  years  ago  a  young  man,  a  mason  by  trade,  went  to  Boston  to 
seek  employment.  For  two  weeks  he  did  nothing  but  walk  the 
streets  dressed  in  his  best  Sunday  suit,  and  failed  to  find  any  one 
who  wanted  his  services.  He  concluded  to  change  his  procedure 
and  to  put  on  the  "  appearance  of  business."  So  he  bought  a  pail 
and  a  whitewash  brush,  and  put  on  his  working  suit,  well  ornament- 
ed with  whitewash  and  started  out  early  the  next  morning  to  adver- 
tise his  profession  as  a  "  whitener."  He  went  into  the  most  fashion- 
able portion  of  the  city,  the  residences  of  the  merchant  princes,  and 
along  the  streets  at  a  rapid  pace,  as  though  he  had  a  big  job  on  his 
hands  and  was  in  a  great  hurry  to  be  at  the  work.  He  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far  before  a  lady  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  espied  him 
and  raising  her  window  called  to  him  to  come  across  as  she  wanted 
to  speak  to  him.  He  crossed  over  and  she  asked  him  if  he  would 
stop  and  whiten  some  ceilings  for  her.  "  No,  I  am  too  busy  to-day, 
but  I  will  come  to-morrow,"  he  replied.  She  told  him  to  come,  and 
away  he  went  on  his  advertising  tramp  for  the  day.  Before  night 
he  had  engaged  all  the  work  he  wanted ;  and  from  that  day  until  he 
made  enough  to  retire  from  business,  he  didn't  have  to  tramp  the 
streets  of  Boston  for  work. 

Young  man  there  is  nothing  like  "  putting  on  the  appearance  of 
business," — that  is  if  you  mean  business.  The  public  always  want 
to  employ  the  busy  man.  They  invariably  have  suspicions  of  a  man 
who  has  nothing  to  do.  And  well  they  may. 

DON'T  BE  ABOVP;  YOUR  BUSINESS. 

Some  young  men  fail  because  they  have  so  exalted  notions  as  to 
what  they  think  is  proper  or  becoming.  This  class,  when  clerks, 
are  too  proud  to  carry  a  bundle  of  any  kind,  and  must  hire  an  ex- 
press or  porter  to  carry  a  yard  of  muslin. 

A  young  man  purchased  a  turkey  in  Quincy  Market,  Boston,  and 
looked  for  a  boy  to  carry  it  home  for  him.  Seeing  no  boy  near,  he 
called  out  to  an  elderly  man  standing  near  by,  "Here,  old  man," 
said  he,  "  take  this  turkey  home  for  me."  The  old  man  took  the 
turkey  under  his  arm  and  followed  the  young  man  to  his  residence, 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  75 

received  a  quarter  for  his  service,  and  as  he  turned  to  leave  said, 
"  When  you  have  any  more  errands  to  do  send  for  Billy  Grey."  If 
the  young  man  had  carried  the  turkey  home  himself,  it  would  have 
tasted  all  the  better,  for  the  old  man  was  none  other  than  Billy  Grey 
himself,  the  richest  man  in  Boston. 

The  late  Amos  Lawrence,  one  of  Boston's  most  successful  mer- 
chants— a  millionaire — when  a  clerk  in  a  dry  goods  store,  sold  a 
bill  of  goods,  promising  to  have  them  delivered  in  Charlestown  by 
12  o'clock  M.  The  porter,  who  was  to  take  them  over,  failing  to  re- 
turn as  soon  as  was  expected,  young  Lawrence  loaded  the  goods  on  a 
wheelbarrow  and  trundled  them  over  the  long  bridge  through  the 
streets  thronged  with  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  had  them  there  on 
time.  Not  one  clerk  in  a  thousand  would  have  been  seen  following 
a  wheelbarrow,  even  if  their  fortunes  were  at  stake. 

A  snobbish  young  man  on  his  way  to  dinner,  stopped  at  a  grocery 
store,  purchased  a  little  tin  box  of  ground  mustard,  less  than  a 
pound  in  weight,  and  asked  to  have  it  sent  home,  although  he  was 
going  directly  there.  A  large  four-horse  truck  (tandem)  was  loaded 
with  the  box  of  mustard,  with  as  much  show  as  if  it  had  been  a 
hogshead  of  molasses.  The  driver  drove  up  to  the  front  door  of 
the  young  man's  residence,  backed  his  truck  up  to  the  sidewalk, 
and  rolled  off  the  little  box  of  mustard,  rung  the  door  bell,  called 
the  young  gentleman  to  the  door,  delivered  the  mustard  and  charged 
37^£  cents  for  the  job.  The  display  in  front  of  his  residence  did 
not  add  to  his  happiness  in  the  least  for  his  loving  neighbors  enjoyed 
the  show  better  than  a  first  class  circus  parade.  It  did  not  require 
any  mustard  poultice  to  warm  up  his  wounded  pride  that  day.  It 
was  a  good  lesson  to  his  snobbish  aristocratic  notions.  These  in- 
stances are  but  samples  of  thousands  of  exhibitions  of  mock  aris- 
tocracy occurring  every  day  in  the  year. 

CHOICE   OF   BOARDING  HOUSES. 

Select  the  best  private  family  accessible  where  culture  and  refine- 
ment are  prized  above  show,  where  the- choicest1  books  and  papers 
and  music  are  thought  more  of  than  theatres,  parties  and  gossip. 
Better  be  at  the  foot  of  the  table  than  at  the  head  every  time.  De- 
velopment comes  by  contact  with  superior  minds,  not  inferior.  One 
elevates,  exalts ;  the  other  degenerates — letting  down  one's  self  to  a 


76  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

lower  level.  Do  not  to  save  a  dollar  a  week  take  board  at  a  second 
class  house.  You  can't  afford  it.  Economise  in  everything  else, 
rather  than  to  associate  with  a  class  devoid  of  all  ambition  for  im- 
provement. The  .society  of  refined  young  ladies  will  improve  any 
young  man.  It  will  be  a  good  school  to  those  who  may  not  have 
had  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education.  The  case  of  a  young 
man  who  took  his  intended  home  to  his  father's  to  tea,  and  when 
they  were  seated  at  the  table,  said  to  her:  u  Take  hold  and  help  your- 
self, we  don't] have  much  manners  here,''  was  an  example  of  board- 
ing house  etiquette  generally. 

A  young  man  cannot  be  too  particular  about  the  society  he  moves 
in.  The  old  saying  still  holds  good  that  "  a  man  is  known  by  the 
company  he  keeps."  Many  a  young  man  has  lost  golden  opportuni- 
ties unknown  to  himself,  simply  by  being  seen  in  questionable 
company.  "Show  me  his  friends,  his  associates,  and  I  will  tell  the 
character  of  a  young  man  whose  voice  I  never  have  heard,"  is  true 
almost  to  the  letter. 


HOW  TO  ENSURE  SUCCESS. 


Pluck  is  ererything.  You  may  just  as  well  be  contented  and  satis- 
fied to  remain  where  you  are  as  to  expect  to  meet  with  any  degree 
of  success  in  any  business  you  may  engage  in,  unless  you  are  pos- 
sessed with  an  abundance  of  this  essential  element.  It  is  a  fast  age. 
Everything  goes  with  lightning  rapidity.  Time  and  distance  are 
annihilated  and  to  win  success  one  must  come  to  time,  or  he  will  be 
ruled  out.  Some  people,  however,  are  so  far  in  the  rear  that  they 
would  not  be  missed  if  they  should  drop  out  of  existence  at  any 
time.  It  is  an  astonishing  as  well  as  indisputable  fact,  that  a  great 
majority  of  the  people  of  our  own  country  never  make  any  mark  in 
the  world.  They  live  and  die  as  the  beasts,  like  so  many  sheep  and 
cattle.  The  only  force  they  exert,  distinguishing  one  over  another,  j 
is  animal.  So  many  "  horse  power,"  weighed  by  the  same  scale  as  a 
steam  engine  or  a  turbine  wheel  is  weighed  to  find  its  power. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  77 

A    SKRMON    IN    A   PARAGRAPH. 

President  Porter,  of  Yale,  gave  the  following  advice  to  the  stu- 
dents of  that  institution,  the  other  day : 

"  Young  men,  you  are  the  architects  of  your  own  fortunes.  Rely 
on  your  own  strength  of  body  and  soul.  Take  for  your  star  self- 
reliance.  Inscribe  on  your  banner, k  Luck  is  a  fool,  Pluck  is  a  hero.' 
Don't  take  too  much  advice — keep  at  your  helm  and  steer  your  own 
ship,  and  remember  that  the  great  art  of  commanding  is  to  take  a 
fair  share  of  the  work.  Think  well  of  youself.  Strike  out.  Assume 
your  own  position.  Put  potatoes  in  a  cart  over  a  rough  road,  and 
the  small  ones  go  to  the  bottom.  Rise  above  the  envious  and  jeal- 
ous. Fire  above  the  mark  you  intend  to  hit.  Energy,  invincible 
determination,  with  a  right  motive,  are  the  levers  that  move  the 
world.  Don't  drink.  Don't  chew.  Don't  smoke.  Don't  swear. 
Don't  deceive.  Don't  marry  until  you  can  support  a  wife.  Be  in 
earnest,  Be  self-reliant.  Be  generous.  Be  civil.  Read  the  papers. 
Advertise  your  business.  Make  money  and  do  good  with  it.  Love 
your  God  and  fellow-men.  Love  truth  and  virtue.  Love  your  coun- 
try and  obey  its  laws." 

£$'« 

WAITING    FOR   THE   ELEVATOR.  ^"* 

Some  young  men  are  devoid  of  the  least  ambition  to 
their  own  advancement.  They  may  have  some  fancied  aspirations 
perhaps  to  occupy  respectable  positions  in  the  community  in  which 
they  live ;  wishing  for  some  prominent  place,  a  little  above  their 
associates,  while  they  do  not  exercise  the  least  ambition  to  work 
their  way  there.  It  reminds  us  of  the  steam  elevators  used  in  all 
first  class  hotels,  by  which  the  guests  are  carried  to  their  rooms. 
They  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  step  in  and  take  a  seat  in  a  little,  ele. 
train  ly  furnished  room,  and  in  a  few  seconds  they  are  up  to  the  top 
story.  No  long  flight  of  winding  staircases  to  climb,  when  tired 
and  weary.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest  luxuries  of  modern  hotel  life. 
In  a  great  rush  sometimes  one  has  to  wait  a  few  moments  for  the 
elevator  before  he  can  ascend.  Thousands  of  young  men  to-day  are 
waiting  for  an  elevator,  one  that  will  carry  them  right  up  to  the 
highest  pinnacle  of  their  lofty  ambition.  In  vain  they  may  wait 
tor  it.  If  ever  they  reach  a  respectable  standing  in  any  community 


78  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

it  will  be  by  the  old  way  of  climbing  up  step  by  step.  No  patent 
elevator  has  yet  been  invented  or  ever  will  be  that  will  lift  one  up 
any  other  way  than  by  his  own  individual  efforts.  Every  one  must 
construct  his  own  elevator  and  run  it  by  his  own  inherent  motive 
power — elevate  himself — or  he  wrill  never  rise  to  any  position  wor- 
thy of  the  noble  powers  nature  has  endowed  him  with.  If  you  are 
born  a  prince  of  royal  blood,  in  due  time,  if  3^011  live,. you  will  reach 
the  throne,  wear  the  crown  and  sway  the  sceptre  over  loyal  subjects, 
bowing  to  your  nod ;  but  that  will  not  happen  on  this  continent. 
My  advice  to  every  young  man  is  to  spend  no  time  in  tracing  back 
your  pedigree,  as  it  is  a  great  waste  of  time,  for  if  of  royal  lin- 
eage, you  will  not  be  lost  sight  of,  for  "  blood  will  tell."  You  will 
be  found  out  and  in  due  time  elevated  to  the  throne  you  were  born 
to  sit  upon.  So  if  you  are  satisfied  that  such  is  not  your  destiny  do 
not  wait  for  the  elevator,  it  never  will  come  down  to  carry  you  up. 
Your  only  chance  is  the  old  staircase,  and  the  sooner  you  satisfy 
yourself  of  the  fact  and  commence  climbing  step  by  step,  the  better, 
making  every  step  count  one  step  higher  than  the  last,  and  if  you 
can  pass  your  competitors  on  the  up  grade,  do  it,  Emulation  is  a 
noble  quality  of  the  soul  and  should  be  exercised  continually. 

A  word  of  caution :  Do  not  become  too  greatly  elated  and  lose 
your  balance.  Be  sure  of  your  footing,  go  strong,  placing  every 
step  you  take  firmly  on  the  treads.  Although  the  staircase  is  very 
old  it  will  be  found  just  as  firm  and  secure  as  it  was  when  the  first 
traveler  passed  up.  Do  not  wait  then  for  an  elevator.  We  often 
hear  young  men  telling  of  their  future  prospects ;  laying  back  on 
their  oars  at  ease ;  building  air  castles  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  to 
vanish  with  the  breath  that  inflates  them.  They  are  waiting  for  an 
elevator. 

A  young  man  says,  "  My  father  is  a  candidate  for  sheriff,  and  if 
elected  I  am  to  be  his'-deputy."  He  is  waiting  for  the  elevator.  An- 
other says,  "When  my  ,old  uncle  is  dead,  I  shall  come  into  posses- 
sion of  a  fortune,  enough  to  keep  me  without  any  business  to  bother 
my  head  about,"  He  is  only  waiting  for  his  elevator.  Thousands  of 
young  men  have  in  store  for  themselves  "great  expectations,"  of 
fortune  or  position — all  are  waiting  for  the  elevator.  Just  where  or 
how  it  is  to  come  they  have  not  the  faintest  conception.  They  an- 
ticipate that  some  motive  power  will  be  brought  into  requisition 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  79 

which  will  just  lift  them  right  up  to  the  very  places  they  have 
selected  as  congenial  to  their  tastes  and  ambition ;  a  class  that  is 
always  hanging  around  the  foot  of  the  staircases  waiting  for  the 
elevator  that  never  comes  down  to  take  them  up. 

BURNED   HIS   SHIP — BLEW   UP  THE   BRIDGE. 

We  read  of  the  general  who  after  landing  his  troops  in  the  ene- 
my's countiy,  blew  up  his  ships  so  that  his  men  might  know  there 
was  no  going  back  with  him ;  it  was  fight  or  die.  So  it  was  with 
the  general  who  burned  the  bridges  behind  him.  When  an  army 
knows  all  retreat  is  cut  off  it  will  fight.  Like  the  man  teaching  a 
swimming  school — he  threw  his  boys  overboard  and  told  them  to 
u  strike  out,"  and  they  had  to  do  so  or  drown.  In  battle  the  raw  re- 
cruits are  often  put .  in  the  front  and  the  old  veterans  in  the  rear  to 
prevent  a  hasty  retreat  or  a  panic.  If  every  young  man  was  har- 
nessed where  he  could  not  get  -away,  and  "  must  pump  or  drown," 
they  would  dazzle  the  world  by  their  brilliant  achievements. 

DO   NOT   PROCRASTINATE. 

This  putting  off  until  to-morrow  what  should  be  done  to-day,  is 
but  putting  off  the  main  chance,  to  be  defeated  at  last 

A  general  in  the  British  army  who  wras  asked  when  he  would  be 
ready  to  sail  for  India,  replied,  "Now;"  and  he  won  the  title  of 
"  Marshall  Forward."  General  Grant  won  his  battles  by  being  al- 
ways ready  to  move  at  once  and  with  alacrity  at  the  right  time.  "  I 
propose  to  move  on  your  works  immediately,"  was  what  gained  the 
battle.  This  timidity,  this  seeing  a  bear  or  lion  in  the  way  is  fatal 
to  any  man's  success.  If  you  once  commence  to  dodge  or  go  around 
the  first  little  obstacle  that  confronts  you,  you  will  do  so  the  next  and 
so  on.  How  many  young  men  say  on  New  Year's  day,  u  I  am  go- 
ing to  turn  over  a  new  leaf.  I  am  going  to  strike  out,"  but  find 
when  the  year  comes  around  that  they  didn't  turn  over  the  leaf  and 
did  not  strike  out.  The  majority  of  men  fall  into  a  rut  and  remain 
in  it  until  they  die.  A  year  only  counts  one,  and  don't  count  any- 
thing else.  They  come  in  on  the  same  track  they  went  out  on. 
Unlike  the  old  man's  dog  that  came  in  "  a  little  ahead  of  the  fox." 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LIFE. 


THE  CONFLICT  IS  YOURS,  ARE  YOU  READY  FOR  THE  BATTLE. 

It  will  never  do  for  a  young  man  to  sit  down  and  wait  for  some- 
thing to  turn  up;  he  must  turn  up  something  for  himself.  If  he 
expects  any  one  to  neglect  his  own  affairs  to  work  for  him  individ- 
ually, personally,  he  will  be  greatly  mistaken.  Each  one  has  a 
battle  of  his  own  on  hand  to  fight,  and  if  he  does  not  strip  himself 
for  the  conflict  he  will  be  ingloriously  "laid  out,"  defeated,  over- 
come, annihilated.  It  is  a  free  fight  and  every  one  has  a  chance  for 
himself.  If  he  sits  down  and  waits  for  assistance,  or  for  some  one 
to  fight  the  battle  for  him,  his  chances  for  winning  success  will  be 
lost,  and  he  will  be  lodged  in  a  ditch  from  which  he  never  can  extri- 
cate himself. 

This  waiting  for  "  Blucher,"  or  some  one  else,  to  come  to  your  aid 
is  simply  to  be  vanquished  while  you  are  waiting.  Waiting  for 
some  rich  relative,  some  old  aunt  or  uncle,  to  die,  strikes  the  death 
knell  for  your  opportunities — tolling  the  bell  for  your  own  funeral, 
and  when  you  are  ready  for  burial  mourners  will  be  few.  If  you 
succumb  to  the  first  little  obstacle  that  confronts  you,  the  next  will 
be  more  formidable  and  so  on  ad  infinitum.  To  lie  down  and  give 
up  to  the  slightest  opposition  is  fatal  to  your  success  in  anything 
you  undertake. 

OPPOSITION. 

Every  young  man,  if  he  expects  to  rise,  must  have  opposition. 
The  kite  will  not  go  up  in  a  calm  or  remain  up  when  it  is  calm.  A 
vessel  cannot  sail  on  a  quiet  sea — a  dead  calm.  It  is  the  storm  that 
hastens  the  bark  homeward.  To  develop  power  you  must  meet  op- 
position. It  is  competition,  opposition,  that  brings  a  man  out.  It 
avails  nothing  for  a  young  man  to  be  at  the  head  of  his  class  all  the 
time.  It  is  a  positive  damage  to  any  student  to  be  always  the  best 
one  of  his  class.  No  stimulant  to  nerve  him  up  to  greater  efforts. 
You  must  have  opposition  if  you  would  excel 


K  KNT  '8  NE  W  COMMENT  A  R  Y  81 

EVEllY   ONE   MUST   TAKE   CAKE   OF    HIS   OWN    HEAD 

A  lot  of  boys  broke  into  a  house  where  there  was  a  quantity  of 
powder  stored  in  barrels.  They  ran  up  stairs  and  everywhere,  while 
in  their  fun  and  frolic  one  boy  below  applied  the  match  to  the  pow- 
der and  sung  out  to  those  up  stairs,  "  Every  boy  take  care  of  his  own 
head." 

A  notorious  fighter,  when  on  his  death  bed,  was  asked  by  one  of 
his  sons  why  it  was  he  never,  was  whipped  in  all  the  fights  and  rows 
he  had  been  engaged  in.  His  answer  was  that  "  Whenever  I  saw  a 
head  I  hit  it."  So  to  attain  success  you  must  hit  every  obstacle 
that  stands  in  the  way  of  your  success,  and  hit  it  hard.  No  legiti- 
mate means  should  prevent  your  progress  onward  and  upward. 

When  one  of  Napoleon's  marshals  told  him  the  Alps  were  in  the 
way  of  his  proposed  campaign,  he  answered  him  with  tremendous 
emphasis :  "  There  are  no  Alps."  Mountains  piled  upon  mountains, 
gorges,  chasms  or  glaciers,  however  broad  or  deep  or  slippery,  were 
but  mole  hills  before  his  resistless,  unconquerable  ambition.  No 
such  word  as  fail  was  in  his  vocabulary. 

GENERAL  ZACHABY  TAYLOR. 

General  Taylor  won  imperishable  renown  in  the  war  with  Mexico, 
and  was  designated,  "  The  man  who  never  knew  when  he  was 
whipped."  With  all  of  his  bull  dog  tenacity  he  ever  kept  on  fight- 
ing. Propelled  by  his  invincible  spirit  of  never  to  surrender,  never 
to  give  up,  his  army  repeatedly  cut  to  pieces  and  half  lying  dead  on 
the  battle  field  or  hors  de  combat,  he  rallied  his  broken  and  shattered 
ranks  to  again  charge  the  enemy  with  redoubled  fur}r.  Although 
every  advantage  was  with  the  Mexicans,  yet  his  invincible  spirit  in- 
cited his  gallant  soldiers  with  a  dash  and  daring  that  carried  dismay 
into  the  very  ranks  of  the  enemy,  and  sweeping  down  upon  them 
with  terrific  impetuosity,  no  force  was  left  on  the  battle  field 
to  oppose  him.  The  enemy  had  fled  like  chaff  before  a  whirlwind. 
General  Taylor  won  the  sobriquet  that  will  ever  attach  to  his  name, 
never  to  be  forgotten  —  "Rough  and  Ready,"  —  the  soldier  who 
"never  knew  when  he  was  whipped."  That  unconquerable  spirit 
made  him  the  man  he  was,  the  gallant  soldier  of  his  time,  and  made 
him  the  twelfth  president  of  the  United  States.  Such  is  the  stuff 


82  KENT\S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

that  heroes  are  made  of.  No  milk  and  water  composition  in  the  men 
who  make  their  mark  in  the  world.  They  do  not  spend  their  best 
days  lying  around  street  corners  and  saloons,  waiting  for  something 
to  turn  up.  Far  from  it.  They  were  preparing  for  the  fight  years 
before  the  battle  was  begun,  and  that  was  what  made  them  victorious 
when  the  crisis  came. 

ON   THE    VOYAGE— EACH  ONE    HIS   OWN   PILOT. 

Launched  on  the  voyage  of  life,  every  young  man  eventually  ar- 
rives at  a  point  where  his  little  bark  must  be  cut  loose  from  pilotage, 
and  the  guiding  hand  of  parental  care  be  withdrawn.  Each  returning 
wave  will  carry  him  still  farther  away,  and  if  he  would  reach  the 
desired  port  in  safety,  he  must  "  paddle  his  own  canoe."  No  one 
can  or  will  paddle  it  for  him,  and  the  sooner  he  becomes  aware  of 
this  fact  the  better.  However  much  he  may  dread  its  hardships  and 
dangers,  or  however  weary  he  becomes,  there  is  no  escape  from  it, 
there  is  no  going  ashore.  Inexorable  fate  compels  every  one  to  make 
the  voyage.  Success  or  failure  rests  with  each  voyager.  Already  he 
is  adrift.  He  is  in  the  current,  ever  increasing  as  it  bears  him  far- 
ther and  farther  out  to  where  the  billows  run  the  highest  and  storms 
rage  the  fiercest.  The  desired  haven  is  up  stream  and  the  current  is 
full  of  wrecks,  stranded  barks,  sweeping  past,  greatly  increasing 
the  danger.  The  trip  affords  no  quiet  harbor,  no  lee  shore,  no  an- 
chorage ground,  no  stopping  place  along  the  way  for  rest,  no  place 
for  the  current  to  slacken  its  swiftness.  It  never  slackens— it  is  al- 
ways rapid,  ever  increasing  as  the  years  speed  along.  There  can  be 
no  resting  on  the  oars.  Every  lost  stroke  imperils  the  safety  of  the 
voyage.  Only  by  constant  and  vigorous  pulling  at  the  oars  can  the 
rushing  current  be  overcome.  Drop  the  oars  or  lie  down  at  ease  and 
the  current  sweeps  the  bark  downward,  and  the  longer  the  rest  the 
swifter  it  goes  with  ever  accelerating  speed.  Every  moment  it  rap- 
idly nears  the  whirpool,  the  vortex.  If  once  caught  by  the  boiling 
surges  your  fate  is  sealed.  A  leap,  a  plunge,  and  you  are  engulfed 
in  an  abyss  from  which  there  is  no  rescue — no  escape.  The  vovage 
is  up — it's  lost.  "  Oh !  the  wrecks  along  the  shore !  "  It  is  lined  with 
the  stranded  barks.  Would  you  look  at  them?  Visit  the  jails, 
State  prisons,  lunatic  asylums,  the  mad  houses;  they  are  there. 
Listen  to  the  sad  tale  they  tell,  and  the  songs  they  sing.  The  refrain 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  S3 

is  but  the  wail  of  thousands,  of  millions;  of  fortunes  lost,  of  hopes 
blasted,  or  disappointed  ambitions  and  of  hopeless  despair  over  the 
failure  of  a  voyage  that  cannot  be  repeated.  Daily  the  tale  is  told, 
the  song  is  sung  in  doleful  strains  like  funeral  marches  to  the  dead. 
Do  you  want  to  sec  the  barks  that  are  floating  down  stream.  They 
are  everywhere.  Young  men  loafing  on  the  street  corners  are  Moat- 
ing. Young  men  hanging  around  saloons,  playing  cards  for  the 
drinks,  are  floating  down  stream.  Young  men  wasting  their  pre- 
cious time  in  idleness  are  floating  down  stream.  Young  men  who 
neglect  all  cultivation  of  their  intellectual  talents  are  floating  down 
stream.  Young  men  wrho  squander  all  their  earnings,  saving  noth- 
ing, are  floating  down  stream,  A  dangerous  class  in  any  commun- 
ity. Property,  life,  are  nothing  to  them. 

WHAT   EVERY    YOUNG    MAN    MUST    HAVK. 

Every  young  man  must  have  a  chart,  a  compass  and  an  anchor 
with  a  cable  that  will  not  part.  Hundreds  of  young  men  start  out 
having  none  of  these  pre- requisites.  Going  to  sea  without  a  compass 
is  to  be  lost.  Going  to  sea  without  a  chart  is  foolhardiness.  Going 
to  sea  without  an  anchor  and  a  strong  cable,  is  simply  to  be  driven 
by  every  gale,  to  be  dashed  upon  the  rocks  and  to  be  lost.  You 
must  lay  out  on  your  chart  in  detail  the  way  you  wish  to  go.  You 
must  man  the  helm  and  hold  it  firm  on  the  course  against  all  com- 
bined forces.  Never  let  go  the  helm. 

DON'T  GIVE  i  r. 

The  continued  dropping  of  water  will  wear  away  the  hardest 
stone.  It  is  the  repeated  blows  that  break  the  rock.  It  is  the  last 
stroke  of  the  pick  that  turns  up  the  shining  dust.  Many  a  man  has 
been  right  on  the  brink  of  a  princely  fortune  and  lost  it  for  not  strik- 
ing one  blow  more.  When  you  take  hold  of  an  enterprise  stick  to 
it  until  you  have  tested  it.  Go  to  the  end.  It  Avas  the  last  shot  that 
hit  the  magazine  and  blew  up  the  enemy's  works.  Add  one  step 
more  before  you  abandon  the  race. 

Governor  Morton,  of  Massachusetts,  was  a  candidate  for  sixteen 
successive  years  before  he  was  chosen  to  the  office,  and  at  last  was 
only  elected  by  a  majority  of  one  vote 


84  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY 

PERSEVERANCE. 

One  step  and  then  another, 

And  the  longest  walk  is  ended; 
One  stitch  and  then  another, 

And  the  largest  rent  is  mended; 
One  brick  upon  another, 

And  the  highest  wall  is  made; 
One  flake  upon  another, 

And  the  deepest  snow  is  laid. 

So  the  little  coral  workers, 

By  their  glow  and  constant  motion, 
Have  built  those  pretty  islands 

In  the  distant  dark  blue  ocean, 
And  the  noblest  undertakings 

Man's  wisdom  hath  conceived, 
By  oft-repeated  effort 

Have  been  patiently  achieved. 

Then  do  not  look  disheartened 

On  the  work  you  have  to  do, 
And  say  that  such  a  mighty  task 

You  never  can  get  through; 
But  just  endeavor  day  by  day 

Another  point  to  gain, 
And  soon  the  mountain  which  you  feared 

Will  prove  to  be  a  plain. 

"Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day," 

The  ancient  proverb  teaches, 
And  nature  by  her  trees  and  flowers, 

The  same  sweet  sermon  preaches. 
Think  not  of  far  off  duties, 

But  of  duties  which  are  near, 
And  having  once  begun  the  work, 

Resolve  to  persevere.  —Selected. 

A  Davenport  boy  went  to  New  York  to  solicit  a  position  to  travel 
for  a  wholesale  house.  He  went  five  times  to  one  establishment  and 
every  time  he  was  told  they  did  not  want  to  engage  him.  He  tried 
to  prevail  on  them  to  allow  him  to  make  a  trial  trip.  No,  they 
would  not  do  that.  Finally  he  proposed  to  buy  a  small  stock  of 
goods.  This  was  business.  They  were  ready  to  sell.  He  went  upon 
the  road,  sold  out  his  stock,  and  made  money.  The  firm  saw  that  he 
"meant  business,"  and  they  were  ready  to  employ  him  to  travel  for 


NEW  COMMENTARY  85 

them.  Now  he  is  one  of  the  firm  and  is  worth  considerable  money. 
It  was  his  persistence  that  won.  Not  one  boy  in  a  hundred  would 
have  had  the  courage  to  apply  a  second  time  after  one  refusal. 
Nothing  like  courage  and  faith  when  an  object  is  to  be  accomplished. 
One  of  the  partners  of  the  house  had  only  fourteen  cents  left  when 
he  reached  New  York  to  seek  his  fortune. 

Ninety  per  cent,  of  the.  best  business  men  of  New  York  and  Bos- 
ton were  born  upon  the  farads  of  the  country.  A  young  man  brought 
up  to  hard  work  on  a  farm,  trained  to  the  closest  economy  in  his 
earlier  years,  has  the  power  of  endurance  that  a  city  boy  does  not 
possess,  consequently  he  will  make  the  best  business  man. 

HOW   JOHN   MOKRISSEY    WENT   TO   CONGRESS. 

John  Morrissey,  the  notorious  prize  fighter,  and  keeper  of  gam- 
bling hells,  when  first  married  could  not  read  or  write.  His  wife 
taught  him  these  accomplishments.  In  the  day  time  she  would 
study  the  lesson  and  at  night  teach  it  to  him.  The  morning  after 
his  fight  with  Heenan,  with  his  head  all  bandaged  up,  she  made  him 
sit  up  in  bed  and  recite  his  lesson.  He  would  often  get  discouraged 
in  studying  fractions  and  the  like,  but  she  told  him  if  he  gave  up  he 
never  would  go  to  Congress.  He  asked  if  she  meant  what  she  said, 
and  she  told  him  she  did;  so  he  would  keep  at  the  nightly  lessons, 
and  he  did  go  to  Congress.  It  shows  what  a  man  can  do  when  he 
puts  himself  to  the  work. 

CATCHING    THE   TRAIN. 

We  have  seen  a  man  start  out  to  take  a  morning  train.  He  would 
look  at  his  watch  and  say,  "  Well  I  am  a  little  late  this  morning,  I 
guess  I  shall  miss  the  train,"  and  he  goes  moping  along  just  as 
though  he  meant  to  miss  it.  He  hears  the  whistle  and  then  begins 
to  quicken  his  pace.  As  the  train  nears  the  depot  he  runs  lively, 
with  all  his  might,  and  arrives  at  the  depot  just  as  the  train  moves 
out  at  the  opposite  end.  All  out  of  breath  he  exclaims,  "  That  is 
just  my  luck.  I  expected' I  would  miss  it  when  I  started."  See  the 
difference :  His  neighbor  looks  at  his  watch  and  says  to  his  wife  : 
•"  Only  three  minutes  to  train  time ;  I'll  make  it ;  good  bye !  "  and  the 
.way  he  tears  down  street  is  a  terror  to  small  boys  on  the  sidewalk. 


*'>  KENT "/?  ./V/?tF  COMMENTARY 

iind  lie  dashes  into  the  street  for  fear  of  knocking  down  half  a  dozen 
people  or  being  tripped  up  by  them,  and  just  as  the  train  enters  the 
depot  he  enters  at  the  opposite  end,  and  remarks  to  a  friend  that  this  is 
n  little  the  quickest  time  he  ever  made ;  "  I  told  my  wife  I'd  make  it, 
.and  I  am  here."  This  man  runs  to  win,  the  other  runs  to  miss 
Each  had  the  same  time  and  same  distance  to  span. 

Resolution  is  mighty  when  backed  by  an  unconquerable  will  to 
carry  it  out.  Resolution  is  powerless,  worthless,  when  there  is  noth- 
ing to  back  it.  Tt  was  at  the  starting  place  where  the  race  was  de- 
cided. 

$10,000  LOST!  $10,000  WON! 

The  man  who  \vent  on  the  first  train  bought  the  morning  paper, 
and  looking  over  the  market  reports  found  that  nails  had  advanced 
seventy-five  cents  per  keg.  As  soon  as  he  reached  his  counting  room, 
he  withdrew  from  sale  all  the  nails  lie  had  on  hand.  He  sent  out, 
his  confidential  clerk  to  buy  all  the  nails  he  could  buy  at  "yester- 
day's prices."  He  drops  into  the  store  of  the  man  that  missed  the 
morning  train,  buys  his  entire  stock  of  nails  to  be  delivered  on  call, 
and  passes  over  a  check  for  the  same.  The  next  train,  three  hours 
later,  brings  in  the  man  that  missed  the  first  train.  Clerks  are  busy, 
and  a  large  pile  of  letters  from  correspondents  require  his  first  atten- 
tion. When  lunch  time  arrives,  he  steps  into  the  merchants'  dining 
rooms,  and  while  waiting  to  be  served  looks  over  the  morning  paper, 
reads  the  market  reports  and  learns  that  nails  have  advanced  seventy 
five  cents  per  keg.  Bolting  his  dinner  hurriedly  down  he  hurries 
back  to  his  store  to  "mark  up  prices"  on  nails,  and  finds  that  his 
neighbor  has  bought  him  out  at  "  yesterday's  prices."  He  exclaims, 
"Just  my  luck;  missing  the  first  train,  I  have  missed  a  clean  profit 
of  $10,000  on  the  stock  of  nails  I  had  on  hand  last  night,"  Luck! 
There  was  no  luck  about  it!  It  was  the  two  minutes  too  late  for  the 
first  train.  Young  man  remember  to  take  the  first  train.  The  first 
man  made  $10,000,  the  last  man  lost  $10,000. 

HOW    WK    LKAKNKU   TO    PLAY    THE   ORGAN. 

Our  home  for  twenty-one  years  was  upon  one  ot  the  high  hills  of 
New  Hampshire.  A  farmer's  boy,  we  knew  nothing  of  the  outside 
world,  and  much  less  of  organs  and  pianos,  and  had  never  seen  a 


KENT '8  NEW  COMMENTARY.  87 

piano.  When  we  were  about  thirty  years  of  age,  we  conceived  the 
idea  that  it  would  be  a  good  investment  to  own  a  cabinet  organ  and 
know  how  to  play  it.  We  were  employed  at  the  time  as  a  salesman 
in  the  largest  dry  goods  establishment  in  a  flourishing  manufactur- 
ing city  in  Massachusetts.  The  proprietor  was  very  exacting.  The 
store  must  be  the  first  one  opened  in  the  morning  and  the  last  one  to 
close  at  night.  We  could  not  move  the  first  thing  towards  shutting 
up  until  the  city  hall  clock  had  struck  the  hour  of  nine.  Then  the 
goods  outside  were  to  be  brought  in  and  those  displayed. in  the  win- 
dows removed,  and  the  curtains  hung  over  all  the  shelves,  and  the 
show  cases  covered.  The  floor  then  had  to  be  carefully  and  thor- 
oughly swept.  We  could  not  reach  our  boarding-place  until  after 
half-past  nine  o'clock  any  night.  Occasionally  on  Saturday  night 
the  store  was  kept  open  until  ten  o'clock. 

It  was  winter ;  we  had  no  fire  in  our  room  and  could  not  afford 
one.  We  sat  down  to  the  organ,  wearing  hat  and  overcoat  with  col- 
lar turned  up  around  our  ears.  The  ivory  keys  and  the  air  coming 
up  beside  them  benumbed  our  fingers.  By  the  time  we  read  the 
notes  for  a  "  chord,"  and  pressed  the  keys  down  and  "  sounded  the 
chord,"  our  fingers  ached  with  pain.  We  would  hold  them  over  the 
lamp  to  "warm  up."  Then  another  chord  would  be  "figured  out," 
and  "played."  We  practiced  this  way  all  winter.  It  was  no  easy 
task.  We  had  hard  work  before  us,  and  stubborn  opposition.  The 
strongest  kind  of  a  combination,  worse  than  a  printer's  union  or  any 
other  union  we  have  any  knowledge  of,  was  working  against  us.  The 
battle  was  with  our  stubborn  fingers ;  they  must  be  conquered  or  we 
must  give  up  trying  to  learn  to  play  the  organ.  It  was  a  doubtful 
problem  which  would  succeed.  Our  will  was  strong,  and  we  waged 
a  constant  war  with  the  enemy.  They  had  had  their  own  way  for 
thirty  years,  and  proposed  to  have  it  forever.  They  were  very  har- 
monious in  their  movements;  if  one  moved,  they  all  moved  in 
unison  on  the  same  line.  We  could  not  play  good  music  in  that 
way.  The  union  movement  must  be  overcome.  It  was  will  versus 
muscle,  chords,  ligaments  and  joints.  The  will  was  unconquerable. 
The  aching  and  swollen  fingers  showed  how  severely  the  battle  raged 
and  how  terribly  they  suffered.  To  move  them  separately  was  the 
great  thing  to  be  accomplished.  Too  long  had  they  grasped  the 
plow  handles  and  swung  the  axe  to  adjust  themselves  to  an  entirely 


88  KENT8  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

new  business,  to  work  independent  of  each  other.  Slowly,  but  not 
very  gracefully  they  yielded.  We  had,  however,  excellent  encour- 
agement, aside  from  our  own  gratification  over  our  ability  to  "hold 
on  "  to  a  chord  to  the  fullest  extent  allowable,  when  we  were  sure  we 
had  it.  Also  from  the  compliments  by  the  boarders  at  the  breakfast 
table,  as  to  how  they  laid  aicake  all  the  time  we  were  playing,  listen- 
ing to  the  ravishing  strains  of  music  as  they  rose  and  swelled  through 
the  corridors  of  the  house.  They  wondered  whether  we  had  the 
power  of  continuance ;  and  whether  we  would  and  could  continue 
to  bring  out  such  harmonies;  surpassing  Haydn,  Mozart,  and  those 
great  composers,  for  ever  and  ever.  Well,  we  could  not  do  it.  For 
those  who  had  no  ear  for  music,  and  could  not  distinguish  the  pealing 
notes  of  the  organ  from  the  cats  that  performed  nightly  in  the  back 
yard,  we  had  supreme  contempt.  They  never  seemed  to  have  any 
more  love  for  our  music  than  the  solemn  catawaulings  outside. 
They  preferred  to  sleep.  We  cannot  now  recall  all  the  high  compli- 
ments we  were  daily  the  recipient  of;  but  if  they  slept  they  missed 
the  greatest  opportunity  of  their  lives,  and  we  ever  had  pity  for 
them.  Many  of  these  compliments  were  of  a  so  decided  personal 
character  that  it  would  look  too  much  for  our  modesty  to  have  them 
appear  in  print. 

Several  times  we  came  near  giving  up  in  despair.  Probably  we 
should  have  done  so  had  we  not  run  across  the  following  lines,  which 
we  cut  out  of  a  paper  and  pasted  over  one  of  our  hardest  lessons, 
and  it  sticks  to  that  lesson  to-day,  and  we  now  occasionally  read  them 
with  great  satisfaction :  "  The  longer  I  live'  the  more  I  am  certain 
that  the  great  difference  between  men,  between  the  feeble  and  the 
powerful,  the  great  and  the  insignificant,  is  energy — invincible  deter- 
mination. A  purpose  once  fixed,  and  then — death  or  victory.  That 
quality  will  do  anything  that  can  be  done  in  this  world;  and  no 
talents,  no  circumstances,  no  opportunities,  will  make  a  two-legged 
creature  a  man  without  it." — Buxton.  As  Charles  Lamb  once  said 
about  an  oyster  pie  dinner,  "  That  did  the  business  for  us." 

It  is  wonderful  what  power  there  is  in  half  a  dozen  lines  to  rouse 
up  the  latent,  dormant  and  undeveloped  energies  of  the  mind. 
Words  that  never  have  been  heard  by  mortal  ears,  silently  entering 
into  the  windows  of  the  soul,  how  they  will  ring  loud  and  clear  upon 
our  inner  perceptions.  Often  times  when  we  strive  the  hardest  to 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  89 

drive  them  out  of  mind,  louder  and  still  louder  they  ring  out  and 
deeper  down  in  our  minds  they  plant  themselves,  there  to  remain. 
Is  there  anything  more  difficult  than  trying  to  forget  what  we  dislike 
to  remember ;  to  forget  an  unkind  remark  or  a  questioning  of  mo- 
tives. Bury  it  if  you  can.  No  grave  has  yet  been  sunk  deep  enough 
to  keep  it  down.  "  Banquo's  ghost "  will  keep  coming  up  just  when 
we  want  it  to  "keep  down."  Read  the  above  lines!  Every  word  is 
worth  a  dollar;  every  line  a  hundred  dollars.  Complete,  they  are 
worth  a  thousand  dollars  to  every  young  man  who  will  engrave  them 
upon  the  tablets  of  his  memory.  To  some  young  man  it  will  bring 
untold  wealth;  honors  that  will  not  die  with  the  vanishing  breath  of 
vain  lamentations.  Good  words  well  spoken  never  die. 

There  are  many  young  men  who  will  commence  business  without  a 
dollar  in  money.  All  their  capital  will  be  in  the  good  use  they  make 
of  the  lines  above  quoted.  They  will  lay  the  foundation  to  a  mag- 
nificent fortune — to  be  counted  by  millions.  It  has  been  done  by 
many  living  millionaires.  It  will  be  done  by  some  young  man  per- 
haps now  chopping  wood  for  his  board.  Young  man  it  may  be  you ! 
Read  them  carefully!  Write  them  in  a  book  and  when  you  are 
about  ready  to  give  up,  read  them  again.  Hold  on  one  day  more. 
Make  one  more  effort  with  all  your  might.  They  will  be  your  talis- 
man to  success,  to  a  glorious  victory  if  you  are  on  the  "right  track." 

Well,  did  it  pay  us?  We  surpassed  our  first  teacher,  and  at  his  re- 
quest we  took  his  seat  at  the  pipe  organ  in  church.  We  were  very 
soon  wanted  in  another  church  at  a  much  better  salary.  Owing  to 
the  state  of  our  finances  we  needed  the  change  and  accepted  the 
"call."  We  always  thought  it  was  our  financial  situation  that  made 
it  so  LOUD  A  CALL.  After  a  time  we  came  West.  Our  talents  could 
not  be  hid.  We  had  four  more  calls  to  play  in  church  than  we  could 
possibly  fill.  We  were  called  upon  for  a  great  many  gratuitous  ser- 
vices, which  we  most  cheerfully  rendered.  We  did  not  do  it  for  ad- 
vertising purposes,  yet  it  did  advertise  us  nevertheless.  A  new  mail 
at  the  organ  had  all  eyes  upon  him,  while  we  might  have  sat  with 
the  congregation  six  months  and  not  six  persons  known  us  by  name. 
Sabbath  school  conventions,  picnics,  social  clubs  all  wanted  our  ser- 
vices, much  more  than  we  had  time  to  give.  Did  it  pay  ?  Yes ;  it 
paid  the  best  kind  of  a  dividend.  It  gave  us  an  acquaintance  that 
we  never  could  have  secured  in  any  other  way.  And  it  paid  finan- 


m  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY 

cially.  A  music  dealer  had  failed  in  whose  affairs  two  Boston  firms 
were  interested.  Each  had  instruments  on  consignment;  one  of 
them  pianos,  the  other  parlor  organs.  Some  one  that  knew  some- 
thing about  music  was  wanted  to  take  the  instruments  and  sell 
them;  some  one  who  was  responsible.  Our  reputation  stood  inves- 
tigation and  we  took  charge  of  the  instruments  although  not  in 
our  line.  However,  it  paid  us  well.  Our  struggle  over  our  "  first 
lessons"  resulted  in  a  profit  of  more  than  two  thousand  dollars  in 
cash  to  us. 

Young  man  do  not  lose  an  opportunity  to  improve  every  talent 
you  have.  It  will  pay  you  sometime,  and  that  well.  No  young  man 
could  have  learned  music  under  greater  discouraging  circumstances 
than  we  did.  To  be  able  to  play  common  church  music,  and  that 
was  about  the  extent  of  our  attainments,  will  pay  a  hundred  fold 
more  than  all  the  cost  in  money  and  time  devoted  to  it.  In  fact  the 
time  devoted  to  it  counts  nothing.  Every  one  has  spare  time  am_ 
pie  for  the  practice.  A  few  minutes  at  a  time  is  far  better  than  ten 
hours  a  day.  When  the  mind  is  fresh  and  active,  more  can  be 
accomplished  in  a  few  minutes  than  in  a  whole  day. 

We  were  spending  a  few  days  in  a  city  in  Texas,  recently,  and  go- 
ing to  church  on  a  Sabbath  afternoon  we,  being  a  stranger,  were  sin- 
gled out  by  the  minister  and  he  came  and  shook  hands  with  us,  and 
inquired  if  we  could  not  sing  or  play  the  organ.  We  admitted  we 
did  play  sometimes,  and  as  the  regular  organist  was  unable  to  be 
there,  we  were  pressed  into  the  service.  Every  one  noticed  the 
4 '  stranger,"  and  had  to  shake  hands  with  him.  Well,  it  was  not  very 
much  that  we  did  but  it  made  it  very  pleasant  for  us  in  a  strange 
city  to  meet  with  such  a  cordial  welcome.  It  will  be  treasured  up 
as  a  bright  memory  of  our  trip.  Had  we  been  destitute  of  the 
knowledge  in  special  demand  just  then  we  should  not  have  had  any 
such  attention  paid  to  us.  We  probably  would  have  gone  away 
without  a  kind  expression  from  any  one.  Young  men  often  ask : 
44  What  good  will  this  or  that  do  me  if  I  learn  it."  There  is  no  dan- 
ger of  a  young  man  acquiring  too  much  useful  knowledge.  He  never 
will  know  just  when  or  how  his  services  may  be  wanted  to  fill  some 
position  requiring  special  talent  or  experience.  If  you  have  any 
taste  for  music  develop  it.  It  will  be  a  great  benefit  to  you  individ 
ually.  Nothing  is  more  restful,  when  tired,  perplexed  or  discour- 


KENT'S  NKW  COMMENTARY  »1 

aged,  than  to  sit  clown  at  the  organ  and  play  some  of  the  grand  old 
tunes.  It  will  relieve  many  a  tedious  hour.  No  one  can  get  up 
from  an  instrument  without  being  made  better.  Our  advice  is  free; 
what  use  will  you  make  of  it? 

Hark !  We  hear  voices — telephonic  messages — coming  from  one, 
ten,  a  hundred,  from  thousands,  "We  will  at  once  commence  to  prac- 
tice upon  this  advice."  In  one  year  from  now  nothing  would  please 
us  more  than  to  hear  from  the  thousands  who  have  been  improving 
their  musical  powers  by  learning  to  play  the  organ  or  piano,  and  to 
have  such  write  us  of  their  proficiency,  and  if  they  have  any  regrets 
to  offer  for  having  commenced  to  carry  out  our  recommendation. 
Who  will  do  it?  We  have  so  much  faith  in  this  one  article  that  we 
verily  believe  it  to  be  as  good,  yes,  better  to  every  one  who  will 
practice  its  teachings,  than  a  present  of  a  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  IN  GOLD 
would  be. 

KXPKRIKNCK    MUST    UK    PAID    KOK. 

It  has  been  and  always  will  be  with  hundreds  of  young  men, 
however  enthusiastic  or  however  hard  they  may  work  to  win  success 
in  a  business  they  never  have  learned,  they  will  find  by  the  bitterest 
experience  that  they  will  have  to  pay  liberally  to  learn  any  business, 
and  possibly  they  may  make  a  miserable  failure  at  last.  It  is  a  very 
absurd  idea  that  a  person  can  enter  into  a  business  Avithout  the  least 
knowledge  of  it,  to  compete  with  old  and  experienced  men  who  have 
IKM-II  trained  up  to  it  from  boyhood,  and  thoroughly  educated  to  it. 
Suppose  some  foolhardy  fellow  should  step  up  to  the  engineer  of  a 
passenger  train  some  dark  and  stormy  night  and  say  to  him:  "Mr. 
Engineer,  allow  me  to  take  your  place  at  the  engine.  I  have  seen 
how  you  pull  those  levers.  I  can  do  that  as  well  as  you."  Do  you 
think  that  there  would  be  a  single  passenger  who  would  remain  on 
the  train  with  such  a  fellow  to  hold  the  throttle  valve?  Do  you 
think  a  pilot,  of  one  of  the  great  Long  Island  Sound  steamers 
coming  into  New  York  Harbor,  in  a  raging  storm,  or  even  in 
a  clear  moonlight  night,  would  stand  aside  and  allow  a  stranger 
who  never  was  on  a  steamer  before  in  his  life,  to  take  the 
helm  ?  Would  not  the  passengers  rise  and  hurl  the  fellow  from  the 
wheel  ?  Every  passenger's  life  would  be  in  fearful  peril,  liable  to 
death  every  moment  „  An.  indignation meeting  would  be  held  at 


92  KENT^H  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

once.  The  pilot,  captain  and  all  hands  would  be  condemned  as 
guilty  of  the  grossest  carelessness  and  utterly  unworthy  of  the  posi- 
tions they  occupied.  The  idea  of  allowing  an  ignoramus  to -act  as 
engineer  or  pilot  where  lives  and  property  are  in  constant  jeopardy, 
would  bring  down  the  anathemas  of  every  one,  simply  because  the 
fellow  is  unskilled,  ignorant  of  the  requirements  of  the  position  he 
assumes  to  fill.  It  is  precisely  so  with  a  young  man  who  thinks  he 
can  run  any  kind  of  business  he  may  wish  to  engage  in,  when  he 
knows  not  the  first  requisites  to  make  it  a  success.  Not  one  in  a 
hundred  will  succeed  who  makes  the  trial.  In  England  it  requires 
seven  long  years  of  apprenticeship  before  one  can  set  up  in  business 
for  himself.  So  you  can  write  it  down  as  one  of  your  maxims  that 
"  It  costs  money  to  learn  how  to  do  business  successfully." 


HOW  SOME  MEN  HAVE  SUCCEEDED. 

•    ECONOMY    THE   SECRET. 

Economizing  one's  resources  is  the  true  secret  of  success.  It  it* 
the  only  foundation  upon  which  every  successful  business  man  has 
built  his  fortune.  A  young  man,  a  stranger  in  the  city  of  Boston, 
travelled  up  and  down  the  streets  seeking  for  employment,  but  un- 
successful in  finding  what  he  wanted,  stumbled  upon  a  load  of  coal 
lying  on  a  sidewalk,  and  took  the  job  of  shoveling  it  into  the  cellar 
for  a  York  shilling  (12^  cents).  He  saved  the  shilling,  and  it  wan 
the  first  step  towards  the  acquisition  of  a  magnificent  fortune  h<; 
afterwards  secured. 

We  know  a  young  man  who  started  business  on  his  own  account 
with  a  small  capital  in  a  city  among  strangers.  At  first  trade  came 
to  him  slowly.  Profits  were  small,  and  he  was  compelled  to  cut 
down  his  expenses  to  the  lowest  cent.  Did  he  board  at  a  first  class 
hotel  at  $00  or  $70  per  month,  and  treat  the  acquaintances  he  made 
with  cigars  and-the  drinks?  Did  he  come  out  with  anew  suit  every 
six  days?  Did  he  spend  his  Sundays  behind  a  fast  horse?  No! 
He  lived  with  his  business,  slept  with  it  and  set  his  own  table.  His 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY  93 

regular  diet  consisted  of  baker's  bread  and  fruit,  apples,  raw  toma- 
toes, etc.,  at  the  cost  of  ten  cents  a  day.  Did  he  succeed  ?  Yes. 
Every  young  man  can  and  will  succeed  when  he  makes  up  his  mind 
to  it.  The  trouble  is  they  will  not  make  up  their  mind,  and  don't 
half  try.  A  thousand  good  resolutions  are  but  a  waste  of  paper  and 
ink,  when  not  backed  up  with  an  invincible  spirit  to  carry  them 
out,  or  die  in  the  effort. 

To  any  of  our  readers  who  have  not  been  to  St.  Louis,  we  will  say 
that  should  you  ever  go  there  you  will  find  two  very  remarkable  at- 
tractions over  which  St.  Louis  prides  itself.  One  is  the  great  bridge 
across  the  Mississippi  River,  a  wonderful  piece  of  engineering  skill 
surpassing  anything  on  this  continent.  The  other  will  be  Shaw's 
Botanical  Gardens,  where  the  choicest  and  rarest  of  every  flower, 
shrub,  plant,  or  tree  in  the  known  world  can  be  seen  growing  in  per- 
fection. It  comes,  to  our  idea,  the  nearest  to  Paradise  of  anything 
seen  or  read  of  on  earth.  If  you  have  anything  that  grows  in  soil 
that  Mr.  Shaw  has  not  a  duplicate  of  he  will  pay  you  handsomely 
for  it.  Mr.  Shaw  is  nature's  nobleman.  His  generosity  reaches  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth  in  securing  every  variety  of  nature's  works,  for 
which  he  has  spent  thousands  of  dollars,  bringing  together  the  en- 
tire product  of  this  globe  within  his  garden  walls,  and  no  expense 
or  labor  is  withheld  to  bring  everything  to  perfection ;  and  yet,  after 
all  this  immense  outlay,  and  many  years  of  toil  and  labor,  the  whole 
world  is  invited  to  come  in  and  enjoy  it  with  him,  and  the  great  iron 
gate  swings  wide  open  to  admit  the  humblest,  the  poorest  man,  wo 
man,  or  child,  that  knocks  at  its  portals.  One  naughty  woman 
strayed  in  and  was  so  charmed  with  its  beauty,  she  thought  it  so  de- 
lightful a  place  she  wanted  to  live  there,  and  as  Mr.  Shaw  was  a 
bachelor,  she  wanted  to  be  his  wife;  but  Mr.  Shaw  objected,  (he 
probably  remembered  how  Adam  lost  his  place  in  the  Garden  of 
Eden),  so  the  would  be  wife,  for  her  terrible  and  bitter  disappoint- 
ment, asked  Mr.  Shaw  to  just  hand  over  a  little  money  to  pacify  her 
with.  She  only  wanted  forty  thousand  dollars — that  was  all.  Al- 
though Mr.  Shaw  is  a  generous  man,  and  had  the  money,  yet  he 
refused  to  comply  with  her  demands.  She  sued  him  and  brought 
him  into  court,  and  in  the  presence  of  twelve  good  men  she  sighed 
and  told  how  she  expected  to  become  Mrs.  Shaw,  and  for  the  bitter 
disappointment  she  sighed  for  just  $40,000;  and  not  a  dollar  less 


94  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

could  cure  her  broken  heart.  She  may  have  been  honest  in  her  de- 
mands but  the  jury  sighed  for  her,  and  their  verdict  was  that  Mr. 
Shaw  must  pay  her  damages— and  a  round  sum  it  should  be,  all  in 
hard  money;  the  total  amount  was  "ONE  CENT!"  Oh,  how  she 
must  have  sighed  then  and  there! 

How  did  Mr.  Shaw  become  so  wealthy  V  Was  it  left  to  him  by 
some  rich  uncle  in  the  old  country  V  Not  much.  When  St.  Louis 
was  simply  a  little  trading  post,  Mr.  Shaw  lived  in  a  log  hut  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  and  sold  jack-knives,  fish-hooks,  etc.,  and  as  he 
could  spare  a  little  money  from  the  profits  of  his  jack-knife  sales,  he 
invested  it  in  land  around  St.  Louis,  which  the  government  was  sell, 
ing  at  $1.25  per  acre,  and  as  the  city  increased  in  population  his 
lands  increased  in  value,  and  Mr.  Shaw  was  made  immensely  rich 
by  the  rise  on  his  land  investments.  Mr.  Shaw  practiced  the  strict- 
est economy  until  he  secured  a  fortune. 

EMMA    ABBOTT 

Was  born  in  poverty,  and  deprived  of  every  advantage  for  improve- 
ment. Some  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  Moline,  111.,  heard  her  sing 
on  the  streets,  and  they  were  pleased.  They  heard  her  childish  wish 
to  become  a  singer,  and  they  helped  her.  Miss  Clara  Louise  Kel- 
logg also  heard  her  sing  and  was  delighted.  She  gave  her  some  in- 
structions and  advice  and  assisted  her  to  a  situation  in  a  church  choir 
in  New  York  city.  A  wealthy  gentleman  was  charmed  with  her  fine 
musical  talents  and  sent  her  to  Europe  to  finish  her  education  and 
furnished  the  money  to  pay  all  her  expenses. 

Young  men  have  been  helped  into  good  situations,  to  become 
business  men  eventually,  and  partners  in  the  largest  establishments 
in  the  country,  who  spent  their  best  days  on  a  farm.  Ninety  out  of 
every  one  hundred  successful  business  men  in  the  large  cities  were 
brought  up  in  the  country  as  farmers,  with  perhaps  not  more  than 
three  months  of  schooling  in  the  winter,  while  rich  men's  sons  fail 
for  the  want  of  the  early  discipline  of  hard  work. 

WORKING   TO   WIN. 

Two  young  men  entered  into  a  partnership  and  bought  a  manu- 
facturing establishment  in  the  vicinity  of  Davenport,  expecting  with 
an  ordinary  amount  of  diligence  to  succeed.  They  very  soon  learned 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY  95 

that  they  had  been  grossly  deceived  as  to  the  amount  of  business 
there  was  to  be  done,  and  that  the  establishment  was  so  run  down 
and  worn  out  that  it  would  require  a  large  outlay  before  they  could 
do  or  realize  anything.  Not  being  thoroughly  conversant  with  the 
business  they  needed  to  rely  upon  others  to  say  what  should  be  done, 
and  in  this  they  were  outrageously  imposed  upon  and  deceived.  It 
did  not  take  them  long  to  comprehend  the  situation — that  they  were: 
badly  involved.  Two  ways  opened  before  them,  either  to  quit  work, 
abandon  the  property  and  lose  all,  or  buckle  down  to  the  task  of 
trying  to  carry  the  heavy  burden  saddled  upon  them.  The  latter 
course  was  decided  upon,  and  they  went  to  work  with  a  will  and 
courage  that  nothing  could  dampen  or  turn  them  from.  The  first 
move  was  to  cut  down  their  personal  expenses  to  the  very  lowest 
possible  cent;  to  spend  not  a  dime  except  when  absolutely  unavoid- 
able. Their  table  expenses  were  adjusted  on  a  similar  basis.  But- 
ter, tea,  sugar  and  coffee  was  stricken  from  their  bill  of  fare.  Flour 
and  corn  bread  was  their  standard  diet.  For  years  they  lived  this 
way  and  worked  incessantly  day  and  night;  saving  everywhere, 
wasting  nothing.  It  was  business  with  them  year  in  and  year  out, 
and  no  holidays — no  vacations.  Five  years  passed  and  with  it 
passed  the  burden,  the  heavy  load,  and  to-day  they  are  able  to  live 
without  labor.  It  was  the  indomitable  spirit  of  sticking  to  it  that 
won  the  victory.  It  always  wins. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  four  young  men  were  attending  the  Iowa 
College,  when  it  was  located  at  Davenport,  and  having  no  income  or 
friends  to  help  them  they  were  obliged  to  work  their  way  as  best 
they  could.  They  occupied  a  garret  over  a  store  near  the  corner  of 
Second  and  Brady  streets.  On  Saturdays  they  did  little  jobs  around 
the  town,  sawing  wood  or  whatever  they  could  find  to  do.  One  of 
them  cleaned  bottles  for  D.  C.  Eldridge,  when  he  was  in  the 
drug  business.  They  finished  their  college  course,  graduating  with 
honors,  and  the  partnership  of  bachelor's  hall  was  dissolved  each 
going  his  own  way  to  make  his  mark  in  the  world.  Three  of  them 
have  become  ministers.  One  of  them,  Rev.  Mr.  Tade,  is  settled  in 
Oregon.  Two  of  them  were  brothers:  one  Rev.  William  Windsor, 
an  honored  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at  Marshalltowuy 
Iowa;  his  brother  Rev.  J.  H.  Windsor,  has  been  settled  in  Graf  ton, 
Massachusetts,  for  ten  or  more  years.  The  fourth  became  a  lawyer. 


»«  KB  NT' 8  NEW  COMMENTARY 

and  went  to  St.  Louis,  married  into  a  wealthy  family,  and  to-day  he 
stands  as  one  of  the  first  lawyers  in  the  profession.  During  the  war 
he  held  a  very  important  office  under  the  government.  Should  you 
ever  have  business  in  St.  Louis  call  on  Lucian  Eaton,  Esq.,  and  you 
will  find  a  gentleman  whose  acquaintance  is  worth  having,  and  see 
the  boy  who  washed  the  bottles  for  Mr.  Eldridge  that  he  might  earn 
his  bread  while  pursuing  his  studies  in  Iowa  College. 

These  are  examples  of  the  class  of  men  that  Iowa  College  turned 
out  then,  and  is  turning  out  every  year.  Men  who  are  making  their 
mark  in  the  wrorld ;  and  many  more  to  follow  from  under  that  mas- 
ter mind,  Rev.  George  F.  Magoun,  D.  D.,  President  of  the  college, 
and  the  accomplished  professors  of  the  institution.  There  is  no 
necessity  for  Iowa  boys  to  leave  the  State  to  secure  a  thorough  col- 
lege education.  The  distinguished  positions  already  filled  by  those 
who  have  gone  out  from  its  walls  is  ample  endorsement  of  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  training  Iowa  College  students  have  received.  We 
venture  the  assertion  that  neither  Harvard  or  Yale  can  show  a  larger 
per  centage  of  successful  talent  in  the  same  time  among  its  gradu- 
ates. 

KEEP  OUT   OF   DEBT. 

Getting  trusted  for  an  article  is  by  some  considered  equivalent  to 
paying  for  it.  Make  up  your  mind  that  you  never  will  put  on  a 
single  article  of  apparel  until  it  is  paid  for.  Better  go  with  patches 
on  both  knees  and  a  crownless  hat,  than  to  run  in  debt  for  new  ones. 
It  is  better  to  have  patches  on  your  knees  than  a  patch  on  your 
credit.  If  you  only  start  right,  and  pay  as  you  go,  you  will  be  right 
all  the  time.  We  know  of  young  men  who  are  always  behind  in 
their  payments.  They  get  trusted  for  a  suit  of  clothes,  and  wear  it 
as  long  as  they  can,  and  then  order  a  new  one  paying  up  for  the  old 
one  only  to  get  a  year's  credit  on  the  new.  It  costs  full  40  per  cent, 
more  for  them  than  it  costs  the  pay  down  customer.  When  a  tailor 
takes  a  long-time  customer  he  holds  him  right  down  to  the  grind- 
stone. Who  desires  to  be  seen  on  the  street  in  mortgaged  apparel  ? 
Here  a  tailor  says,  "  There  goes  one  of  my  customers  with  a  suit 
that's  not  paid  for."  Make  up  your  mind  to  never  have  your  name 
on  any  man's  books,  for  personal  expenses  of  any  kind.  This  get- 
ting trusted  for  a  box  of  collars  or  a  toothpick  is  a  bad  practice, 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  97 

besides  being  expensive.  No  dealer  will  take  his  chances  of  losing 
without  a  round  profit.  It  injures  any  young  man's  reputation. 
When  you  are  a  merchant  another  course  may  be  advisable.  If  you 
have  a  small  capital  it  may  be  necessary  to  make  some  indebtedness, 
yet  we  are  of  the  opinion,  that  in  the  long  run,  buying  and  selling 
strictly  for  cash  is  the  best  way  to  do  business.  A  cash  buyer  can 
go  wherever  he  pleases.  He  is  independent  of  everybody. 


HINDRANCES  TO  A  SUCCESSFUL  CAREER. 

IS   POVERTY  A   HINDRANCE? 

Boys  born  in  poverty  have  the  best  chances  for  success,  for  the 
best  of  all  reasons  that  they  are  compelled  to  rely  upon  themselves, 
upon  their  own  individual  efforts,  while  the  sons  of  the  rich  rely 
upon  the  wealth  of  their  fathers  and  have  no  incentive  to  spur  them 
up,  no  dire  necessity  which  places  them  solely  upon  their  own  re- 
sources. Their  wants  are  well  supplied,  while  the  poor  boy  has  to 
work  hard  to  live ;  and  if  he  acquires  an  education  it  is  by  great 
personal  sacrifice.  If  a  poor  boy  once  gets  a  thirst  for  an  education, 
gets  his  ambition  "fired  up,"  it  will  carry  him  through.  Some  of 
the  most  distinguished  men  of  our  country  left  the  humble  cottages 
where  they  were  born,  up  among  the  hills,  with  their  personal  estate 
all  tied  up  in  a  cotton  handkerchief,  never  to  return  until  they  had 
drank  deep  from  the  fountain  of  universal  knowledge.  Hundreds 
of  illustrious  men  could  be  named  who  were  born  in  poverty,  reared 
in  poverty,  and  left  their  homes  penniless;  homes  of  the  plainest 
kind,  where  comforts  were  unknown ;  where  it  was  a  constant  strug- 
gle of  the  family  to  live,  daily  fighting  the  wolf  from  the  door; 
where  hunger  and  want  sat  daily  around  the  family  board. 

Many  noted  men  were  born  in  homes  that  were  cold  and  cheerless, 

around  which  storms  howled  and  screeched  for  admittance;  the 

snow  of  winter  often  covering  the  beds  wherein  lay  sleeping  the 

men  of  the  future,  and  when  to  awake  was  to  crawl  out  from  under 

7 


98  KENT 8  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

a  snow  bank.  No  hot  air  furnaces  there  to  burn  up  the  pure  oxygen 
— life's  greatest  elixir — sapping  the  bloom  and  flush  from  the  rosy 
cheeks,  and  health  from  the  system.  That's  the  way  the  men  of  the 
great  cities  commenced  their  early  life.  They  had  a  discipline 
superior  to  the  hot  houses  of  learning,  where  an  unnatural  growth 
is  stimulated  at  the  expense  of  an  impaired  constitution,  resulting 
in  premature  old  age,  and  early  death.  Witness  the  mortality 
among  the  graduates  of  Mount  Holyoke  and  Yassar  College  for  ex- 
ample. It  has  been  stated  that  a  very  large  percentage  of  the  grad- 
uates of  Mount  Holyoke  die  in  less  than  three  years  after  graduation. 
It  is  a  sad  comment  on  popular  education  of  the  day,  wherein  the 
mind  culture  overshadows  the  house  it  occupies. 

Sons  of  distinguished  men,  of  the  great  statesmen,  seldom  have 
risen  above  the  positions  reached  by  their  fathers;  seldom  have 
they  held  an  equal  position ;  not  one  in  one  hundred  or  perhaps  one 
in  a  thousand.  The  majority  drop  far  below,  down  to  the  level  of 
the  commonest  people.  Some  have  become  roving  vagabonds,  dis- 
honoring, disgracing  their  family  names.  Only  once  in  the  history 
of  our  country  has  the  mantle  of  the  father  rested  with  equal  honors 
on  the  son  of  a  distinguished  statesman ;  that  was  John  Quincy 
Adams.  Where  are  the  sons  of  the  other  presidents?  Of  other 
public  men;  of  Clay,  of  Webster,  and  scores  of  illustrious  men 
who  have  electrified  their  hearers  with  their  glowing  eloquence? 
They  are  dead — dead  to  all  that  was  noble  or  grand  in  the  lives  of 
their  fathers.  Dead  to  all  ambition,  to  every  noble  impulse  of  a 
noble  nature.  Dead,  buried,  unmissed  from  society,  without  mourn- 
ers, no  monument  erected  by  a  grateful  people  over  their  graves  to 
carry  their  names  down  to  generations  unborn. 

MONEY   WELL  EARNED  GOES  THE  FARTHEST. 

When  a  young  man  earns  $100  by  hard  work  he  knows  its  value. 
Rich  men's  sons  who  never  earned  a  dollar  in  their  lives,  and  have 
all  they  want  to  spend,  do  not  know,  cannot  know  the  value  of  a 
dollar,  and  never  will  until  they  are  compelled  to  earn  one  by  hard 
labor.  There  are  young  men  in  college  who  spend  annually  more 
than  $5,000,  while  classmates  are  compelled  to  cut  expenses  down 
to  less  tnan  $300.  We  will  venture  the  prediction  that  the  one 
who  spends  the  least  money  while  at  college  will  be  by  far  the  bet- 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY,  99 

ter  scholar,  and  have  the  most  money  in  ten  years.  One  goes  to 
college  because  he  has  a  rich  father  to  pay  all  the  bills,  while  the 
other  goes  because  he  is  anxious  to  secure  a  good  education,  know- 
ing its  value  for  his  future  success,  and  to  secure  it  must  fight  his 
way  through  poverty  and  deny  himself  the  ordinary  comforts  of  life. 

A  story  is  told  of  a  young  man  living  in  the  oil  regions  of  Penn- 
sylvania, who  was  a  steady,  industrious  young  man,  driving  an  ox 
team  at  $18  per  month,  for  his  aunt.  She  died  leaving  him  with  an 
estate  worth  $2,000,000,  besides  a  royalty  worth  $2,000  per  day.  Be- 
coming so  suddenly  rich,  he  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  himself 
or  his  fortune.  He  had  never  been  away  from  his  mountain  home. 
He  knew  nothing  about  the  great  world  outside  of  the  narrow  bounds 
in  which  he  had  lived.  He  decided  to  see  the  world  and  for  com- 
pany he  hired  several  young  men  to  go  along  with  him  to  help  en- 
joy the  sights  and  spend  the  money.  They  started  out  for  Columbus, 
Ohio.  On  arrival  at  the  depot  he  got  up  a  quarrel  with  the  hack- 
man  about  the  fare  and  finally  settled  by  buying  the  hack  and  hiring 
the  driver  to  take  them  to  a  hotel.  Here  he  engaged  an  entire  floor 
for  his  party,  and  lay  all  night  drunk  on  the  parlor  carpet.  Next 
day  he  bought  more  horses  and  selected  a  driver  to  take  them 
around  the  city.  When  there  were  no  more  sights  to  see  he  presented 
the  driver  with  the  hack,  horses  and  all.  So  he  went  from  city  to 
city,  spending  his  money  in  the  most  lavish  manner,  astonishing 
boot-blacks,  hotel-runners  and  table-waiters  with  hundred  dollar  or 
five  hundred  dollar  bank  notes.  Any  way  to  get  rid  of  $2,000  a  day. 
He  drank  at  every  fountain  of  pleasure,  giving  free  rein  to  all  the 
passions.  But  this  style  of  living  could  not  last  long.  The  end 
came  in  less  than  two  years. 

The  money  did  not  fail ;  there  was  no  lack  of  funds ;  no  lack  of 
places  to  visit  or  sights  to  see.  He  was  arrested  for  a  debt.  A  stern 
officer  had  laid  his  hands  upon  him.  He  was  bound  fast.  No  bonds 
would  be  accepted,  he  could  not  get  bail.  His  two  millions  could 
not  purchase  his  release  or  a  reprieve,  and  he  had  to  accept  the  in- 
exorable fate — death.  Do  you  think  when  he  came  down  to  the 
border  land  he  was  happy  as  he  looked  back  over  two  years  of  his 
life.  Was  not  $18  a  month  driving  oxen  better  than  $2,000  a  day 
with  all  the  dissipation  and  disgrace  and  disease  that  he  had  con- 
tracted, for  which  there  was  no  relief,  no  cure.  Truly  the  way  of  the 


100  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

transgressor  is  bard,  and  the  "wages  of  sin  is  death."  There  is  a 
greater  misfortune  than  being  born  poor.  It  is  in  being  heir  to 
great  wealth.  Wealth  that  comes  without  effort,  without  toil,  is  not 
always  a  blessing. 

A  young  man  in  Boston  was  left  with  a  fortune  of  $50,000,  and  in 
one  year's  time  he  had  spent  it  all  in  gambling  and  dissipation. 
Such  instances  are  by  no  means  rare  in  this  country. 

THERE   ARE   MANY   THINGS  MONEY  CANNOT  BUY. 

The  sons  and  daughters  of  the  wealthy  are  given  the  very  best 
advantages  afforded  in  this  country  or  abroad.  Everything  is  done 
for  them  that  money  and  influence  can  do.  A  distinguished  teacher 
said  to  us  that  it  was  almost  a  hopeless  task  to  make  a  good  musician, 
vocal  or  instrumental,  out  of  pupils  from  the  wealthier  classes; 
that  they  should  often  send  them  home  were  it  not  for  the  interest 
the  father  or  mother  had  to  have  their  son  or  daughter  learn  music. 
A  poor  man's  daughter  would  get  her  tuition  money  returned  to  her 
if  she  did  not  possess  superior  musical  ability. 

What  is  the  early  history  of  all  the  singers  in  the  fashionable 
churches  of  the  large  cities.  Are  they  from  the  aristocracy?  No. 
They  came  from  the  poor  families,  from  some  country  home  up 
among  the  mountains,  where  they  had  no  advantages  for  improve- 
ment. There  was  where  they  became  inspired.  The  singing  of 
birds  and  the  music  of  the  "  rocks  and  rills,"  fitted  their  souls  for 
diviner  strains.  The  more  they  became  filled  with  nature's  music, 
the  greater  became  their  thirst  to  drink  deeper  from  its  fountains. 
Mountains  and  hills  echo  gladsome  strains,  songs  almost  divine.  A 
party  from  the  [city,  roughing  it  in  the  woods,  catch  the  echos  as 
they  leap  from  hill  to  hill,  from  crag  to  cliff,  and  they  are  thrilled, 
entranced.  Where  could  such  strains  of  music  come  from,  "  sweet 
ar»  an  angel's  voice."  The  song  ceases.  The  singer  must  be  found. 
They  search.  A  log  cabin  is  discovered.  They  approach.  A  timid 
girl  retreats  behind  it.  A  rap  at  the  door  meets  the  response, "  Come 
in."  They  tell  of  the  music  that  charmed  them,  and  enquire  who 
and  where  was  the  singer.  The  woman  knows  of  no  singer  there. 
"That  is  strange.  Have  you  not  a  daughter  or  a  little  girl  that 
sings  ? "  "  Oh,  yes ;  niy  little  girl  sings  to  herself,  she  knows  noth- 
ing about  music."  "Will  you  have  her  come  in  and  sing  for  us?" 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  101 

And  the  timid  girl  conies  reluctantly  out  from  her  hiding  place  to 
sing  one  of  her  wild  mountain  songs.  "  Ah,  we  have  found  you  out; 
you  are  the  angel  we  heard  singing  so  sweetly."  Five  years  pass. 

If  you  are  in  New  York  go  to  Dr. 's  church,  on  Madison  Avenue, 

and  you  will  hear  the  same  sweet  singer,  singing  for  a  salary  of  one 
thousand  dollars  a  year. 


BRAINS  AND  LABOR.     RESULT :  SUCCESS. 

BRAIN   POWER. 

It  is  brains  that  wins,  that  conquers,  and  controls  all  powers.  It 
puts  into  harness  and  holds  the  reins  to  all  the  combined  forces,  ani- 
mal and  mechanical,  as  well  as  the  elements.  A  celebrated  painter 
was  once  asked  what  he  "  mixed  his  paints  with."  He  replied,  "  with 
brains."  The  great  battles  of  the  world  were  not  won  by  brute 
force,  or  by  the  superiority  in  numbers  of  men  engaged  on  one  side 
over  the  other,  but  by  the  brain  power  of  the  victorious  commanders, 
who  could  arrange  all  the  plans  for  the  battle  days,  weeks,  even 
months  before  a  movement  was  made  or  a  gun  fired,  with  every 
division  and  every  man  assigned  to  the  right  position  in  advance. 
Victory  was  simply  the  inevitable  results  of  brain  power  developed. 

Individuals  are  born  with  unequal  brains.  It  is  simply  quality 
and  cultivation  that  makes  the  difference.  It  is  a  fact  that  many  a 
man  has  made  his  mark  in  the  world  who  had,  by  actual  weight,  a 
very  small  brain,  yet  wonderfully  active;  while  other  men,  with 
Websterian  brains,  have  hardly  made  a  ripple.  Like  the  rich  deep 
soil  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  of  no  more  value  without  cultivatioa 
than  the  rocky  soil  of  New  England,  or  an  African  desert. 

THE   PATHFINDER. 

When  General  Fremont,  the  great  pathfinder,  undertook  to  lead 
his  pioneer  soldiers  over  a  trackless  waste  across  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, through  the  deep  and  constantly  falling  snows  of  a  terribly 


102  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

cold  winter,  a  long  march  of  untold  suffering,  which  was  only  sur- 
passed by  the  army  of  Napoleon  on  its  return  from  Moscow,  he  had 
an  experience  that  tested  his  mettle,  and  developed  his  power  to 
control  his  men  and  himself  under  a  great  and  trying  emergency. 
He  had  not  proceeded  far  on  that  perilous  march  before  his  men  be- 
gan to  falter,  disheartened,  overcome  by  the  fatigue  of  wading 
through  the  deep  snow,  and  by  the  intensely  bitter  cold  of  the  high 
altitude.  Falling  behind,  many  of  his  men,  they  lay  down  in 
their  tracks  to  die.  Squads  of  men  would  be  sent  back  to  bring  in 
the  stragglers,  but  no  amount  of  persuasion,  no  realization  of  the 
horrors  of  death,  of  freezing,  or  being  a  feast  for  wolves,  or  any 
force  used  upon  them,  could  arouse  them  up  to  even  reach  the  camp, 
and  they  had  to  be  left  where  they  were,  to  their  fate.  Fremont  be- 
came alarmed  as  he  saw  his  ranks  diminishing,  and  he  was  fearful 
that  the  whole  command  would  perish  in  the  mountains. 

But  he  was  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  issued  imperative  orders 
to  shoot  the  first  man  who  laid  down  on  the  march.  The  result  was 
electric.  Not  a  man  straggled  behind;  not  a  man  was  shot;  the 
command  was  saved.  An  indomitable,  unconquerable  spirit,  was 
master  of  the  situation.  Until  the  last  man  was  dead  in  his  tracks, 
and  his  own  last  drop  of  blood  congealed  in  his  veins,  would  he 
unfalteringly  execute  his  plans.  It  was  victory  or  death.  To  have 
halted  was  sure  death ;  to  go  forward  was  death  if  he  slacken  his 
discipline  in  the  smallest  degree. 

Was  it  from  the  sudden  unexpected  difficulties  that  he  found  him- 
self surrounded  with?  Far  from  it.  It  was  the  discipline,  the 
training,  the  conquering  of  himself  years  before  this,  which  had 
fitted  him  for  just  such  an  emergency.  How  unlike  Alexander  the 
Great,  who  subdued  everything  but  himself.  When  he  mapped  out 
a  plan  of  action,  it  was  to  win.  Everything,  every  movement,  was 
planned  to  its  accomplishment.  Probably  not  one  man  in  a  million 
could  have  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  under  similar  circum- 
stances. General  Fremont  well  earned  the  name  of  "  Pathfinder." 

WANT   A  TURNPIKE. 

Some  men  can  easily  follow  a  well  beaten  road,  but  when  it  comes 
to  cutting  their  way  through  a  trackless  wilderness,  over  mountains 
towering  up  among  the  clouds,  in  the  deep  snow,  to  facing  the  ter- 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  103 

rific  blasts  of  an  Arctic  winter,  sweeping  down  upon  them  from  the 
lofty  and  barren  peaks  of  the  Rockies,  they  are  out  of  their  element. 
Contrast  General  Fremont's  achievements  with  the  Donner  Lake 
catastrophe.  Here  was  a  party  of  some  seventy  persons,  that  under- 
took in  mid-winter  to  go  through  to  California,  and  were  lost  in  the 
snow,  and  compelled  to  eat  the  dead  bodies  of  their  companions. 
Every  soul  perished.  They  had  no  Fremont  for  a  leader  and  so 
leader  and  all  perished. 

BORN   GREAT. 

Men  are  not  born  great.  Greatness  is  not  thrust  upon  any  one. 
Men  who  have  distinguished  themselves  have  carved  out  their  own 
fortunes  by  indefatigable  zeal,  and  unconquerable  determination 
never  to  surrender,  never  to  give  up.  They  became  the  "  architects 
of  their  own  fortunes."  The  way  is  clear;  the  doors  stand  wide 
open  for  every  young  man  in  America  to  accomplish  something 
that  may  make  his  pathway  through  life  bright,  and  leave  for  him  a 
name  that  will  not  be  forgotten  when  he  shall  have  finished  his 
career. 

AFTER  THE  BUGS  AND  ROCKS. 

A  few  years  ago  a  Davenport  boy  might  have  been  seen  run- 
ning up  and  down  the  bluffs,  anywhere  and  everywhere,  across  the 
fields  at  break  neck  speed,  with  a  scoop  net  in  hand,  scooping  up 
bugs,  butterflies,  grasshoppers,  fleas,  etc.,  and  in  fact,  everything  he 
could  scare  up  or  scrape  up  into  his  net.  Sometimes  he  was  dig- 
ging in  the  earth  after  grubs,  or  peering  under  old  logs  after  beetles, 
or  climbing  trees  like  woodpeckers,  after  worms  and  bark  lice. 
Everybody  asked,  "What  ails  that  boy?  He  must  be  foolish  or 
crazy."  Nobody  complained,  however,  and  they  let  him  run. 
When  the  Davenport  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  had  completed 
a  building,  and  thrown  it  open  to  the  public,  everybody  was  de- 
lighted with  the  Indian  war  clubs,  the  stone  hatchets  and  arrow- 
heads, and  the  thousand  and  one  relics  of  the  red  man  and  the  un- 
known mound  builders.  But  the  entomologist  department  was  com- 
plete, a  wonder  of  wonders.  Every  known  insect  in  Iowa,  and  almost 
in  the  West,  from  Mexico  to  California,  and  to  the  life  line  of  the 
North,  was  on  exhibition,  all  arranged  in  classes,  with  their  scien- 


104  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

tific  names  attached.  Who  could  have  collected  such  a  multitude 
and  arranged  them  with  such  skill.  It  was  the  work  of  the  "  foolish 
boy,"  who  had  been  seen  so  many  years  before,  running  down  but 
terflies,  bugs,  and  beetles.  Davenport  has  the  finest  entomological 
collection  in  the  West,  and  the  best  entomologist.  His  achievements 
have  been  recognized  at  home  and  by  the  savans  of  Europe.  It  was 
the  result  of  the  concentration  of  talent  to  the  one  idea.  He  had 
one  single  object,  one  end  in  view.  Do  you  wonder  that  he 
succeeded. 

Another  young  man  owns  a  fine  cabinet  of  geological  and  miner- 
alogical  specimens  in  the  same  institution,  the  large  cases  filling 
one  entire  side  of  a  large  room,  a  collection  costing  much  time, 
labor  and  money  to  secure  and  arrange.  It  displays  a  talent,  and 
desire  to  read  the  records  of  the  rocks;  a  thirst  for  the  knowledge 
to  unlock  their  hidden  secrets ;  to  know  their  compositions,  and  the 
mysteries  of  long  periods  marking  each  epoch  of  time. 

Here  are  illustrations  of  what  two  young  men  have  accomplished 
by  faithful  concentration  of  their  efforts  to  special  lines  of  scientific 
investigation.  The  same  opportunities  have  been  and  are  now  open 
to  hundreds  of  young  men  in  our  city,  and  in  every  city  in  the 
country.  Why  do  they  not  improve  them  ?  Are  their  minds  occu- 
pied in  scientific  researches  in  other  directions,  preparing  to  bring 
before  the  world  new  discoveries  in  the  sciences  and  arts  ?  It  is  one 
of  the  saddest  thoughts  to  every  reflective  mind  that  so  many  young 
men,  endowed  with  good  natural  abilities  if  exercised  in  the  right 
direction,  are  wasting  their  talents  aimlessly.  They  could  distin- 
guish themselves  in  the  world  if  they  would  only  turn  their  efforts 
in  the  right  channels.  Instead  of  that,  they  neglect  the  cultivation 
of  their  talents,  and  the  fires  that  ought  to  burn  clear  and  bright 
are  smothered.  The  fine  ability  of  the  young  men  of  to-day,  if 
properly  developed,  would,  in  twenty  years,  revolutionize  the  world. 
The  wheels  of  progress  would  roll  on,  and  the  wonders  of  to-day 
would  be  forgotten  by  the  new  and  greater  discoveries  in  the  world 
of  science.  The  present  modes  of  travel,  and  of  interchange  of 
thought,  would  become  too  slow  and  obsolete. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  earth  was  supposed  to  be  the  centre  of 
the  universe,  and  the  heavenly  bodies  revolved  around  it.  Astrono- 
mers then  discovered  that  the  sun  was  the  centre,  and  everything 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  105 

revolved  around  the  sun.  More  powerful  telescopes  were  con- 
structed, which  revealed  stars  that  did  not  seem  to  revolve  around 
the  sun.  The  heavens  were  scanned  for  years  to  solve  the  mystery. 
Larger  telescopes  were  made,  sweeping  across  the  immense  spaces 
without  limit,  and  other  stars,  other  unknown  worlds  appeared.  This 
new  and  startling  discovery  was  overwhelming.  The  stupendous 
proposition  could  not  be  solved  by  any  previous  hypothesis.  In 
vain  have  philosophers  tried  to  fix  the  bounds,  to  limit  the  power  of 
the  Infinite,  beyond  which  He  could  not  act  or  exist ;  yet  when  the 
mind  was  about  to  grasp  each  new  discovery,  the  curtain  lifted  to 
unfold  still  greater  mysteries.  The  vastness,  the  immense  distances 
intervening  between  our  systems  and  other  unknown  systems,  is  as 
yet,  unfathomable,  incomprehensible.  Where  is  the  end,  where  the 
bounds?  "Who  can  find  out  the  Almighty  by  searching?"  What 
a  field  remains  to  be  explored  in  the  starry  heavens !  Who  are  to 
build  the  greater  instruments  of  the  future?  Who  are  to  read  the 
heavens  under  the  light  of  the  next  new  revelation  ?  Who  are  to  be 
the  men  to  startle  the  world  by  revolutionizing  the  present  methods 
of  travel,  by  sea,  earth  and  air? 

The  world  is  in  its  infancy.  Each  day  brings  a  new  revelation, 
each  year  brings  new  demonstrations  of  man's  progress  in  physical 
supremacy  over  the  elements  above  and  under  the  earth.  A  decade, 
and  the  world  of  science  and  of  arts  erects  a  barrier  between  the 
past  and  present  that  buries  in  obscurity  the  wonders  of  a  dying 
generation.  What  possibilities  for  the  young  man  of  the  period, 
just  stepping  upon  the  stage  of  active  life,  to  revel  in  the  new  and 
startling  developments,  surpassing  all  the  achievements  of  centuries 
gone  before.  What  opportunities  to  inscribe  their  names  high,  above 
all  of  the  combined  wisdom  of  the  past  and  present !  Young  man 
look  up  and  not  down !  There  is  plenty  of  room  at  the  top  for  you. 
Will  you  occupy  it?  The  burden  is  on  your  shoulders.  Will  you 
carry  it?  And  concentrating  your  efforts  to  one  thing  with  indom- 
itable energy  you  will  be  the  victorious  champion  of  whatever  you 
shall  undertake. 

HOW  ONE  MAN  WON. 

Some  twenty-five  years  ago  a  young  man  left  his  home  is  Massa- 
chusetts and  took  a  situation  in  a  mercantile  house  to  sell  dry  goods 


106  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

and  yankee  notions.  It  was  not,  however,  congenial  to  his  tastes  or 
education.  He  therefore  dropped  the  yard  stick,  jumped  the  counter 
and  said  good-bye  to  all.  He  entered  the  law  office  of  a  leading  at- 
torney of  Davenport  and  went  to  reading  Blackstone,  Coke,  Kent's 
Commentaries,  etc.  His  financial  condition  was  such  that  he  did  not 
need  to  solicit  the  banks  to  take  charge  of  his  surplus  funds;  neither 
did  they,  to  our  knowledge,  solicit  his  deposits.  There  was  in  this 
regard  a  mutual  indifference  all  around.  He  may  have  been  troubled 
with  dyspepsia,  for  he  avoided  hotel  fare,  and  accepted  in  lieu,  plain 
boarding  house  diet.  His  theory  was,  that  to  become  a  good  student 
whether  for  business  or  for  a  profession,  the  best  plan  was  to  fall  in 
love  with  it.  He  practiced  this  theory,  and  became  thoroughly  en- 
thused for  legal  lore,  applying  himself  dilligently  to  his  books  day 
and  night.  His  wardrobe  answered  the  double  purpose  of  dress  for 
the  day  and  dress  for  the  night,  bed  spreads  and  all.  His  economy 
was  worthy  of  the  highest  praise;  a  financial  crisis  hung  over 
him  continually,  and  all  that  saved  him  from  going  under  were  the 
insignificant  cases  before  police  justices  that  the  Judge  would  not 
undertake  and  turned  over  to  our  hero  to  make  what  he  could  out  of. 
He  would  load  himself  down  with  ponderous  volumes  of  authorities, 
whether  touching  the  case  in  point  or  not,  we  do  not  understand,  and 
neither  did  the  Justice.  But  he  trembled  at  the  sight  of  them,  and 
knowing  that  the  Judge's  library  was  the  largest  in  the  State,  and 
knowing  that  there  would  be  no  end  to  the  case  if  all  the  books 
therein  were  to  be  brought  out,  the  shortest  way  was  to  accept  the 
ipse  dixit  of  the  young  attorney  of  the  law,  and  so  decide. 

Opportunities  of  this  kind  to  our  hero  were  exceedingly  welcome ; 
the  practice  and  the  fees  were  well  relished.  Indefatigable  in  his  at- 
tention to  the  duties  of  the  office,  always  ready  to  work  day  and 
night  if  necessary,  reading  up  the  authorities,  preparing  cases  for 
trial,  etc.,  his  services  became  very  valuable.  All  this,  however,  did 
not  go  for  nothing.  Such  devotion  to  business  is  sure  to  bring  its 
reward  in  due  time.  Most  young  men  do  not  realize  this  fact,  how- 
ever, till  too  late  in  life.  The  business  of  the  office  was  constantly 
increasing.  A  partner  was  wanted,  and  although  a  score  of  young 
men  had  been  educated  in  the  same  office,  none  had  been  so  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  the  Judge  as  he,  and  so  he  became  the  junior 
partner.  Poverty  had  been  his  boon  companion  in  all  these  years. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  107 

Now  the  wheel  of  fortune  begins  to  revolve  for  a  new  deal,  (not  a 
fortune-teller's  wheel),  and  it  brings  around  to  the  new  partner  from 
one  case  gained,  a  little  fee  of  more  than  $40,000.  Other  suits  gained 
rolled  in  additional  fees  fat  and  heavy. 

Oar  young  attorney  does  not  eat  boarding  house  hash  now,  or 
sleep  in  his  clothes  on  a  bunk  under  the  shadows  of  cords  of  legal 
opinions,  or  set  up  night  after  night  to  write  up  briefs.  He  has  re- 
tired from  the  practice  of  the  law,  owns  a  charming  villa,  lives  in 
the  quiet  enjoyment  of  one  of  Davenport's  most  beautiful  homes, 
where  friends  are  always  welcome.  He  has  spent  nearly  two  years 
traveling  in  foreign  countries.  He  is  a  true  gentleman,  greeting  all 
with  a  genuine  cordiality  that  makes  one  feel  better  every  time  of 
meeting.  He  did  not  consult  fortune-tellers  or  spirit  rappers,  but 
went  to  work  to  make  his  fortune,  and  made  it  by  labor,  the  way  all 
legitimate  fortunes  are  made. 

Let  us  suppose  that  he  had  been  indifferent  and  unaccommodating 
every  time  he  was  asked  to  do  a  little  extra  work;  the  result  would 
have  been  that  he  would  be  where  hundreds  of  other  young  men  are 
to-day,  without  money  and  without  reputation;  filling  a  place  that 
is  better  unfilled.  Whenever  we  hear  "  My  country,  'tis  of  thee !  " 
sung,  we  think  of  its  venerable  author,  and  his  son,  S.  F.  Smith,  Esq., 
of  Oak  Lawn,  Davenport,  Iowa. 


MEN  WHO  STARTED  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE 
LADDER. 

General  Grant,  when  the  war  broke  out,  was  tanning  hides  at  Ga- 
lena, 111.  He  had  been  a  farmer,  had  hauled  wood  into  St.  Louis, 
and  had  failed  to  make  a  fortune  at  farming  or  anything  else.  When 
he  was  appointed  Colonel  of  an  Illinois  regiment  he  had  not  the 
money  to  buy  his  uniform  and  necessary  equipage.  His  old  friend, 
and  our  old  friend,  E.  A.  Collins,  Esq.,  loaned  him  the  money — $400. 
He  had  failed  in  everything  he  taken  hold  of,  but  his  military  record 
shows  that  he  had  found  his  forte,  also  the  enemy's  fort,  and  taken 
it.  To-day  he  stands  upon  the  highest  round  of  fame  ever  reached 
by  any  human  being.  The  entire  world  has  paid  its  compliments 
to  U.  8.  Grant. 

Daniel  Webster  had  no  remarkable  traits  of  character  in  his  boy- 
hood. He  was  sent  to  Exeter  Academy  in  New  Hampshire.  After 
remaining  awhile  he  gave  up  and  started  home.  A  neighbor  found 
him  on  his  way  by  the  roadside,  crying.  He  asked  him  what  was 
the  matter.  He  said  he  never  could  make  a  scholar;  he  was  always 
at  the  foot  of  the  class,  and  the  boys  were  making  fun  of  him,  and 
he  had  given  up  school  and  was  going  home.  The  neighbor  told 
him  that  he  must  not  do  that,  but  go  back  to  school,  and  if  he  would 
study  hard  it  would  no  be  long  before  he  would  stand  at  the  head  of 
his  class.  Daniel  took  the  advice  and  went  back,  He  applied  him- 
self to  his  studies  with  a  determination  to  win,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  he  changed  his  position  from  the  foot  to  the  head  of  the  class, 
and  kept  there,  and  silenced  those  who  had  ridiculed  him  for  his 
poor  scholarship.  When  he  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  he  was 
not  assigned  to  the  position  he  thought  belonged  to  him.  After  re- 
ceiving his  diploma,  he  went  back  of  the  College  building  and  said 
to  his  associates:  "This  diploma  will  not  make  me  a  great  man.  If 
I  ever  distinguish  myself  hereafter  it  will  be  by  my  own  individual 
efforts;  this  sheep-skin  will  not  do  it."  He  tore  up  his  diploma  with 
the  remark  that  "  Dartmouth  College  will  hear  from  me ;"  and  they 
did  hear  from  him,  for  they  had  to  call  him  back  to  save  their  char- 
ter, the  charter  of  the  College  that  did  not  appreciate  his  talents 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  109 

when  he  graduated ;  and  they  were  compelled  to  employ  him  in  its 
defence,  and  it  was  by  his  masterly  efforts  that  it  was  forever  estab- 
lished on  a  foundation  as  lasting  as  the  granite  which  it  rests  upon. 
When  he  appeared  at  the  trial  the  question  was  asked  by  the  leading 
men  of  the  bar :  "  What  can  that  young  man  say  in  defense  of  the  Col- 
lege Charter?"  The  odds  were  against  him.  A  rich  and  powerful 
State,  with  finest  legal  talent  against  a  young  man  alone,  and  he 
was  engaged  simply  because  the  College  was  too  poor  to  employ 
first-class  counsel.  The  young  man  found  something  to  say,  and  it  is 
said  that  his  masterly  eloquence  brought  tears  from  the  eyes  of  the 
presiding  judge,  as  well  as  from  many  of  the  spectators.  He  did 
have  something  to  say,  and  said  it  well. 

Hon.  George  W.  McCrary,  late  Secretary  of  War  and  successor  to 
Judge  Dillon  on  the  bench  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court,  started 
life  as  a  poor  lad,  and  worked  on  a  farm  to  help  his  widowed  mother 
maintain  the  family.  His  manly  bearing  in  his  youthful  days  won 
for  him  the  respect  of  every  one.  One  straight-forward  course  won 
for  him  the  place  he  now  occupies. 

Judge  James  Grant  started  low  down  on  the  ladder.  He  walked 
all  the  way  from  South  Carolina  to  Davenport,  Iowa,  with  his  entire 
worldly  effects  tied  up  in  a  bandanna  handkerchief  slung  on  a  stick 
over  his  shoulders.  He  owns  the  largest  law  library  in  the  State  of 
Iowa,  and  has  tendered  it  to  Scott  County  as  a  free  gift.  He  has  re- 
ceived more  than  $150,000  in  fees  from  a  single  suit.  He  owned 
the  largest  smelt  works  in  the  world  located  at  Leadville,  Colorado, 
which  he  has  recently  sold.  He  has  given  four  of  his  nephews  the 
best  opportunities  at  home  and  abroad  to  acquire  a  first  class  educa- 
tion. His  whole  success  may  be  summed  up  in  three  words,  work, 
pluck,,  push. 

Judge  John  F.  Dillon's  early  life  commenced  under  very  unfavor- 
able circumstances.  His  father  was  not  blessed  with  an  abundance 
of  worldly  goods,  and  was  obliged  to  labor  by  the  day  to  support  his 
family.  The  country  was  new  and  sparsely  settled.  The  Indians 
hud  j  i;._i  left  and  there  were  no  public  schools.  The  only  educational 
privileges  he  could  avail  himself  of  were  from  itinerent  peda- 
gogues, who  came  along  occasionally  to  teach  a  few  weeks  at  a  time. 
But  John  lind  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  he  made  the  most  of  his 
opportunities,  and  applied  himself  with  a  will  that  knew  no  defeat. 


110  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

He  studied  medicine  with  a  resident  practitioner  and  entered  upon 
the  practice.  His  physical  powers  were  unequal  to  the  hardship  of 
riding  over  trackless  prairies  and  bridgeless  streams  in  all  weathers> 
and  perhaps  it  was  not  his  forte,  perhaps  not  congenial  to  his  tastes. 
He  "threw  his  physic  to  the  dogs"  and  went  to  reading  law.  At 
twenty-five  he  was  a  partner  in  one  of  the  leading  law  firms  of  the 
city.  At  [twenty-seven  he  was  elected  district  judge  and  occupied 
the  position  until  he  was  chosen  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  Iowa.  This 
new  position  he  filled  until  appointed  United  States  Circuit  Judge 
of  the  Eighth  Judicial  District,  and  only  resigned  last  September  to 
fill  a  more  prominent  position,  and  at  a  better  compensation,  having 
received  an  appointment  as  profsssorin  Columbia  Law  School,  New 
York  city,  and  being  chosen  as  advisory  counsel  of  a  large  railroad 
corporation.  His  name  had  been  often  mentioned  for  the  supreme 
bench  of  the  United  States,  but  the  fact  that  Iowa  had  already  one 
judge  on  the  supreme  bench  prevented  his  name  being  brought  for- 
ward for  the  place.  Besides  performing  most  acceptably  the  duties 
of  a  conscientious  and  upright  judge  for  twenty  years,  he  has  found 
time  to  compile  numerous  law  works,  and  his  publications  have  be- 
came standard  authorities  in  all  the  courts.  He  is  comparatively  a 
young  man,  and  greater  honors  await  him  should  he  live  to  the 
ordinary  age  of  "  three  score  and  ten.."  Here  is  a  model  for  every 
young  man  to  study  well.  No  young  man  has  started  under  greater 
difficulties  than  did  John  F.  Dillon.  College  honors  and  diplomas 
were  not  won  by  him  to  make  boast  of.  He  succeeded  through  his 
own  individual  efforts,  with  none  of  the  advantages  that  thousands 
of  rich  men's  sons  enjoy.  Young  men  do  not  be  discouraged,  do  not 
give  up.  If  you  have  the  fire  within  you  stir  it  up,  make  it  burn 
brightly,  clear  and  strong.  Make  it  hot.  The  road  is  open,  the 
track  is  clear,  drive  on.  Remember,  however,  that  it  is  the  concen- 
tration of  all  the  powers  to  a  single  purpose  that  wins  the  race. 

Rev.  Dr.  Joel  Hawes  worked  his  way  through  college,  and  through 
Andover  Theological  Seminary  under  very  unusual  difficulties.  The 
day  he  graduated  at  the  Seminary  he  went  upon  the  stage  with  his 
boots  "  pinned  up,"  to  hide  his  stockingless  feet,  and  with  his  vest 
buttoned  up  to  his  chin  that  the  ladies  should  not  see  the  style  of  his 
shirt  front,  which  was  fashioned  by  the  same  hand  that  fashioned 
the  first  man's  similar  garment.  The  poverty  stricken  young  man 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  Ill 

was  not  ashamed  to  do  his  best  and  to  do  his  duty  with  such  apparel 
as  he  owned.  Such  young  men  make  their  mark  and  he  made  his. 
He  became  a  distinguished  divine,  and  was  settled  at  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut, for  many  years.  He  wrote  and  published  numerous  works, 
among  them  his  "  Lectures  to  Young  Men,"  which  had  a  very  extend- 
ed sale.  Had  he  been  filled  with  that  exquisite  fastidiousness  that 
makes  some  young  men  and  perhaps  young  ladies  so  very  nice, 
that  all  their  thoughts  and  anxieties  are  on  "etiquette,"  and  to  be 
fashionable,  he  would,  like  them,  have  accomplished  nothing. 

A.  Kimball,  Esq.,  General  Superintendent  of  one  of  the  best  rail- 
roads in  the  West,  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific,  is  a  New 
Hampshire  boy,  who  commenced  railroading  as  a  fireman,  and  often 
worked  the  brakes.  By  his  faithful  devotion  to  the  interests  of  his 
employers  in  whatever  position  he  attempted  to  fill,  he  developed  his 
capacity  to  fill  a  higher  station.  Slowly  and  steadily  he  advanced, 
step  by  step,  and  at  every  turn  of  the  wheel  came  the  order  to  go  up 
higher,  until  at  last  he  has  reached  the  highest  round  in  the  gift  of 
any  railroad  corporation.  His  name  has  been  chosen  to  christen  the 
new  hotel  of  our  city.  Should  the  proprietors  run  it  on  the  "Kim- 
ball  plan,"  they  will  not  fail  for  want  of  patronage.  But  where  are 
the  young  men  who  started  out  to  seek  their  fortunes  with  Mr.  Kim- 
ball.  None  have  reached  a  higher  position ;  the  minority  have  not 
even  been  heard  from.  And  why  not  ? 

Anna  Dickinson  won  her  way  by  persistent  and  indomitable 
energy.  How  many  young  ladies  would  like  to  be  honored  as  she 
has  been  in  the  "  lecture  field."  Yet  how  many  would  get  down  on 
their  knees  on  a  public  street  and  scrub  a  sidewalk,  as  she  did,  to 
earn  a  quarter  that  she  might  hear  Wendell  Phillips  lecture.  The 
same  man  who  hired  Phillips  to  lecture  afterwards  engaged  Anna 
Dickinson  at  four  hundred  dollars  a  night. 

Young  man,  do  you  covet  an  honored  position  in  the  world? 
Would  you  have  your  name  spoken  of  only  "in  praise?"  Then 
learn  the  A  B  C's  if  you  have  not.  It  is  no  game  of  chance,  no  lot- 
tery. It  is  the  universal  law  of  "  endless  progression,"  by  which  the 
good  positions  are  reached. 

"  The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept, 
Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight : 
But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 
Were  toiling  up  and  in  the  night." 


WHAT   BEINGS   HAPPINESS. 

HAPPINESS  VERSUS  GOLD. 

« 

Perhaps  there  never  was  a  greater  mistake  made,  and  one  that 
never  can  be  corrected  in  this  world,  than  this,  the  idea  that  wealth 
brings  happiness ;  that  all  a  man  needs  is  plenty  of  gold  to  enjoy 
unalloyed  happiness  to  the  end  of  his  days.  A  greater  mistake  is 
not  possible.  The  abundant  testimony  of  those  that  have  vast  wealth 
ought  to  be  conclusive  of  the  fact.  A  rich  man  is  in  peril  every 
moment  of  his  life,  at  home  or  abroad.  There  are  ten  thousand  foes 
on  his  track.  All  the  combined  talent  of  the  most  desperate  and 
daring  thieves,  blacklegs,  cut-throats  and  murderers,  conspire  to  get 
his  money.  Hungry  children,  a  dissolute  son,  or  some  distant  rela- 
tive, hungry  for  his  anticipated  inheritance,  are  wishing  him  dead. 
All  are  setting  traps  to  ensnare  his  feet;  or  hiring  some  villain  to 
break  into  his  house  in  the  quiet  stillness  of  the  night  to  murder 
him  in  cold  blood,  to  steal  a  will  and  destroy  it.  A  rich  man  can 
not  sell  a  piece  of  property  but  it  is  known  by  "  layers  in  wait,"  to 
steal  the  proceeds  from  him. 

The  murder  of  Mr.  George  Davenport  on  Rock  Island,  111.,  one 
fourth  of  July,  furnishes  an  illustration.  He  had  received  consider- 
able money  a  few  days  before.  An  acquaintance  conies  over  to  see 
the  family,  stops  to  tea,  finds  out  who  are  going  to  the  celebration 
the  next  day,  and  learns  that  Mr.  Davenport  will  remain  at  home. 
When  the  celebration  is  the  liveliest,  five  strangers  steal  into  Mr. 
Davenport's  house.  He  is  sitting  in  his  parlor  at  the  time  and  gets 
up  to  see  who  is  coming.  They  shoot  him,  only  wounding  him. 
They  then  drag  him  up  stairs  to  make  him  open  his  safe.  They 
choke  him  until  he  is  senseless,  then  throw  water  in  his  face  to  re- 
vive him.  They  get  his  money.  Mr.  Davenport  lived  long  enough 
to  tell  of  his  terrible  struggle  with  his  murderers.  The  man  that 
took  supper  was  the  "  stool  pigeon,"  who  engineered  the  plot. 

A  man  draws  $5,000  at  a  bank  to  take  home  to  pay  off  a  mortgage 
on  his  farm.  Two  men  ask  to  ride  with  him.  As  soon  as  they  are 
fairly  in  the  wagon  they  knock  him  senseless,  and  take  his  money. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY,  113 

The  door  bell  rings  in  the  evening  and  the  man  of  wealth  steps  to 
the  door,  opens  it,  and  three  masked  men  spring  upon  him,  bind 
him  fast,  and  silence  the  family  with  a  display  of  revolvers.  The 
house  is  then  robbed. 

Only  a  few  days  ago  an  aged  couple  in  Illinois  were  living  in 
quiet  retirement.  Burglars  break  in,  kill  the  husband  and  torture  the 
wife  over  the  fire  until  she  cannot  endure  it  longer,  and  force  her  to 
tell  where  the  money  is  hid. 

The  man  of  wealth  is  annoyed  constantly  with  anonymous  letters, 
threatening  him  that  if  he  does  not  send  $1,000  or  $5,000  immedi- 
ately, he  will  be  shot  the  first  dark  night  caught  out  or  fixed  in  some 
way.  A  man  cannot  travel  without  being  liable  to  be  "taken  off." 

Gold  will  not  give  health  when  lostk  or  buy  off  death.  A  rich  man 
rides  in  his  carriage  and  sees  the  farmer  ploughing  in  the  field  and 
says, "  What  would  I  not  give  if  I  could  take  that  man's  place  at  the 
plow."  The  poor  man  footing  it  wearily  along  sees  the  carriage 
roll  past  and  wishes  he  could  ride  in  "  such  fine  style."  Baron 
Rothschild  was  constantly  threatened  if  he  did  not  "shell  out." 
Thieves  and  murderers  are  'regularly  organized  and  have  their 
agents  in  every  city.  They  plan  the  work,  watch  every  movement, 
know  all  the  trades  and  transfers  and  who  gets  the  money,  and  then 
send  for  an  outside  accomplice,  a  stranger  to  the  community  to 
come  in  and  take  the  pile.  He  comes  in  the  night,  does  his  work 
in  the  night,  and  leaves  in  the  night,  and  the  police  are  all  in  the 
dark  as  to  who  could  have  done  the  deed.  Various  devices  are  re- 
sorted to,  to  learn  all  about  a  house  they  propose  to  break  into.  A 
man  in  a  working  suit  comes  to  see  about  the  gas  or  water,  or  a 
leak  in  the  roof;  any  excuse  simply  to  get  inside  to  see  how  the 
rooms  are  arranged  and  occupied;  or  perhaps,  in  broad  day 
light,  if  the  husband  is  away,  kills  the  wife  and  then  robs  the 
house.  A  most  amiable  lady  at  East  Boston,  some  three  or  four 
years  ago,  heard  her  door  bell  ring  and  on  opening  it  a  man  dressed 
in  a  working  suit  said  to  her,  "The  gas  company  sent  me  to  look 
after  the  meter."  And  he  wished  she  would  show  him  where  it  was. 
She  goes  down  into  the  cellar  to  show  him  and  he  murders  her  in 
cold  blood  and  steals  the  rings  from  her  fingers,  and  robs  the  house; 
all  in  broad  daylight.  A  man  of  wealth  never  knows  when  he  or 
his  family  are  safe  trom  these  desperadoes. 


114  RENTS  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

A  MILLIONAIRE'S  ENJOYMENTS. 

The  following  story  is  told  of  Jacob  Ridgway,  a  wealthy  citizen  of 
Philadelphia,  who  died  many  years  ago  leaving  a  fortune  of  five  or 
six  million  dollars: 

"  Mr.  Ridgway,"  said  a  young  man  with  whom  the  millionaire 
was  conversing,  "you  are  more  to  be  envied  than  any  gentleman  I 
know." 

"Why  so?"  responded  Mr.  Ridgway.  "I  am  not  aware  of  any 
cause  for  which  I  should  be  particularly  envied." 

"  What,  sir!"  exclaimed  the  young  man  in  astonishment;  "why, 
you  are  a  millionaire.  Think  of  the  thousands  your  income  brings 
you  every  month." 

"Well,  what  of  that?"  replied  Mr.  Ridgway;  "  all  I  get  out  of  it 
is  my  victuals  and  clothes,  and  I  cannot  eat  more  than  one  man's 
allowance  or  wear  more  than  one  suit  at  a  time.  Pray,  can  you  not 
do  as  much?" 

"Ah!  but,"  said  the  youth,  "think  of  the  hundreds  of  fine  houses 
you  own,  and  the  rentals  they  bring  to,you." 

"  What  better  am  I  off  for  that?"  replied  the  rich  man;  "  I  can 
only  live  in  one  house  at  a  time.  As  for  the  money  I  receive  for 
rents,  why,  I  can't  eat  it  or  wear  it.  I  can  only  use  it  to  buy  other 
houses  for  other  people  to  live  in;  they  are  the  beneficiaries,  not  I." 

"  But  you  can  buy  splendid  furniture  and  costly  pictures,  fine  car- 
riages and  horses;  in  fact  anything  you  desire." 

"  And  after  I  have  bought  them,"  responded  Mr.  Ridgway,  "  what 
then  ?  I  can  only  look  at  the  furniture  and  pictures,  and  the  poorest 
man,  who  is  not  blind,  can  do  the  same.  I  can  ride  no  easier  in  a 
fine  carriage  than  you  can  in  an  omnibus  for  five  cents,  without  the 
trouble  of  attending  to  drivers,  footmen  and  hostlers;  and  as  to  any- 
thing  I  desire,  I  can  tell  you,  young  man,  the  less  we  desire  in  this 
world,  the  happier  we  shall  be.  All  my  wealth  cannot  buy  me  a 
single  day  more  of  life;  cannot  procure  me  power  to  keep  afar 
from  the  hour  of  death;  and  then  what  will  it  avail,  when,  in  a  few 
short  years  at  most,  I  lie  down  in  the  grave  and  I  leave  it  all,  forever. 
Young  man,  you  have  no  cause  to  envy  me." 

A  few. months  ago  a  millionaire  died,  and  the  first  question  asked 
was :  "  How  much  money  did  he  leave  ?"  The  answer  was :  "He  left 
it  all."  "  Burial  robes  have  no  pockets." 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  115 

ONE   WEALTHY   LADY'S   EXPERIENCE. 

Mrs.  Hooper  writes  of  a  lady  residing  in  Paris,  under  a  disguised 
name,  but  none  other  than  Mrs.  John  Mackay,  the  wife  of  a  Califor- 
nia millionaire.  She  gives  numerous  instances  of  how  Mrs.  Mackay 
was  annoyed  as  soon  as  her  great  wealth  and  her  residence  was 
known  in  that  city.  She  received  a  great  many  letters  and  numerous 
calls  from  professional  beggars  and  impostors.  We  quote  a  few  of 
the  most  amusing  and  barefaced  impositions  attempted;  A  pen- 
niless Spaniard  wanted  to  return  to  his  home  in  Cuba,  and  begged 
for  one  thousand  dollars  to  buy  an  outfit  for  himself.  A  Frenchman 
wrote  that  he  was  in  desperate  need  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  if 
he  didn't  get  it  immediately  he  would  drown  himself  in  the  Seine 
or  jump  off  the  Arc  de  Trioinphe.  A  woman  must  have  five  thou-. 
sand  dollars  or  she  would  be  driven  to  a  life  of  shame.  An  English 
woman  only  asked  for  $100,000  to  redeem  an  estate  in  Englandt  so 
that  she  and  her  brother  could  live  in  affluence  the  balance  of  their 
days.  A  fellow  had  given  his  betrothed  $60,000  worth  of  jewelry, 
and  the  bill  had  become  due,  and  he  wanted  "to  borrow  that  amount 
for  a  short  time.  Mrs.  Mackay  was  equal  to  the  occasion  and  ad- 
vised the  lover  to  go  to  his  lady  love  and  explain  the  situation  of  his 
finances.  He  left  in  a  hurry.  A  pretended  South  American  consul 
represented  that  he  was  commissioned  by  a  friend  who  was  worth 
eight  million  dollars  to  select  a  lady  for  a  wife,  and  he  understood  that 
she  had  an  unmarried  sister  and  he  would  condescend  to  recom- 
mend her  to  become  the  countess  of  his  rich  friend.  An  Ameri- 
can lady  was  in  deep  distress;  all  her  furniture  had  been  seized 
and  her  children  were  starving,  and  she  was  fainting  for  the  want  ot 
food.  Mrs.  Mackay  gave  her  quite  a  large  sum  and  while  out  for  a 
drive  the  next  day,  she  met  the  lady  riding  in  great  style,  with  a  new 
bonnet,  six  button  gloves,  etc.  At  first  the  tales  of  woe  affected  Mrs. 
Mackay  so  that  she  often  cried  herself  to  sleep,  and  in  her  dreams 
she  would  see  these  unfortunates  drowning,  or  jumping  off  from 
some  dizzy  height,  to  be  dashed  to  atoms.  She  soon  learned  that 
nearly  every  applicant  was  a  professional  imposter. 

Rich  people  have  more  trials  and  annoyances,  and  often  suffer 
more  than  a  man  who  labors  for  his  daily  bread.  Wealth  does  not 
secure  unalloyed  happiness.  It  is  the  cause  of  much  unhappiness. 


116  KENT'S  NE  W  COMMENTARY. 

It  is  said  that  there  are  as  many  disadvantages  on  the  side  of  wealth 
as  there  are  on  the  side  of  poverty. 

"POOR  RICHARD'S"  ADVICE. 

There  are  two  ways  of  being  happy — we  may  either  diminish  our 
wants  or  augment  our  means — either  will  do,  the  result  is  the  same; 
and  it  is  for  each  man  to  decide  for  himself,  and  do  that  which  hap- 
pens to  be  easiest.  If  you  are  idle  or  sick  or  poor,  however  hard  it 
may  be  for  you  to  diminish  your  wants  it  will  be  harder  to  augment 
your  means.  If  you  are  active  and  prosperous,  or  young  and  in 
good  health,  it  may  be  easier  for  you  to  augment  your  means  and 
diminish  your  wants.  But  if  you  are  wise  you  will  do  both  at  the 
sumo  time,  young  or  old,  rich  or  poor,  sick  or  well ;  and,  if  you  are 
very  wise,  you  will  do  both  in  such  a  way  as  to  augment  the  general 
happiness  of  society. — Benjamin  Franklin. 

"Gold!  gold!  gold!  gold! 
Bright  and  yellow,  hard  and  cold, 
Molten,  graven,  hammered  and  rolled; 
Heavy  to  get  and  light  to  hold; 
Hoarded,  bartered,  bought  and  sold, 
Stolen,  borrowed,  squandered,  doled; 
Spurned  by  the  young  but  hugged  by  the  old 
To  the  very  verge  of  the  church-yard  mould; 
Price  of  many  a  crime  untold: 
Gold!  gold!  gold!  gold! 
Good  or  bad  a  thousand  fold! 
How  widely  its  agencies  vary, — 
To  save— to  ruin — to  curse — to  bless- 
As  even  its  minted  coins  express, 
Now  stamped  with  the  image  of  good  y,ueen  Bess, 
And  now  of  a  bloody  Mary.1' 

—Thomas  Hood. 


INDULGENCE  OF  APPETITE. 

"  Though  the  mills  of  God  grind  slowly, 
Yet  they  grind  exceedingly  small ; 
Though  with  patience  he  st  imls  waiting, 
With  exactness  grinds  he  all."  — Longfellow, 

RUINED   BY   WHISKY. 

About  twenty-five  years  ago,  a  young  man  with  a  good  common 
school  education,  left  his  Vermont  home  and  came  to  Davenport. 
He  learned  a  good  trade,  was  steady  and  economical  in  his  habits. 
His  father  sent  him  a  few  thousand  dollars  to  become  one  of  a  firm, 
— to  be  a  business  man.  He  laid  aside  his  poor  apparel  and  dressed 
in  first  class  style.  Unacquainted  with  the  office  work,  and  not  hav- 
ing a  faculty  for  soliciting  outside  business,  there  was  little  for  him 
to  do  but  stand  as  a  figure  head.  Too  proud  to  go  to  work  in  the 
department  he  had  learned,  he  became  "a  gentleman  at  large." 
The  business  was  not  a  success.  It  was  a  failure.  The  war  broke 
out;  he  obtained  a  clerkship  in  the  quartermaster's  department. 
The  Sanitary  Commission  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  wanted  funds  to  carry 
on  their  work.  A  lottery  was  resorted  to  to  raise  the  funds.  He 
bought  a  ticket;  it  drew  for  him  $5,000  cash.  His  father  died  and 
more  money  came  to  him  from  the  estate.  He  married,  and  shortly 
after  the  wedding  he  invited  a  friend  who  had  just  married  to  spend 
an  evening  with  him.  He  brought  out  the  wedding  cake  and  a  bot- 
tle of  wine.  They  enjoyed  themselves  alone,  eating  and  drinking. 
The  hour  to  separate  arrived,  when  the  guest  said,  u  George,  now  we 
cannot  afford  this."  It  did  not  please  him.  He  was  angry  and  re- 
plied, "  I  can  drink  or  let  it  alone,  as  I  please."  It  was  their  last 
meeting  as  friends.  The  war  closed  and  other  business  was  obtained. 
Friends  became  his  bondsmen.  They  had  to  make  up  deficiencies 
and  he  was  soon  out  of  business.  The  habit  of  drink  was  now  his 
master.  As  business  and  friends  departed,  the  harder  he  continued 
to  drink.  The  last  time  we  saw  him  was  early  one  morning,  and  he 
was  entering  the  rear  of  one  of  the  lowest  groggeries  on  Front 
street,  a  place  we  should  have  been  afraid  to  have  entered  at  the 


118  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

front  door  even  at  noon  time.  When  all  was  gone,  money,  reputa- 
tion, credit,  and  the  last  friend,  he  in  hopeless  despair  of  the  present 
future  leaped  into  the  unknown  future.  Retreating  to  a  solitary 
place,  he  sat"  down  and  placing  a  revolver  to  his  temple,  its  bullet 
entered  his  brain,  and  his  soul  sped  on  its  journey  to  the  land  of  de- 
parted spirits.  Twenty-five  thousand  dollars  in  money,  wife,  friends, 
reputation,  all  went  to  satisfy  the  demon  of  drink— whisky.  He 
•died  in  the  very  prime  of  manhood.  This  was  a  young  man  who 
could  "drink  or  let  it  alone." 

In  the  light  of  this  terrible  example,  young  men  who  saw  the  be- 
ginning and  the  end  of  this  sad  wreck,  followed  the  same  track,  step 
by  step,  and  are  now  also  laid  near  by  in  the  same  cemetery ;  and 
there  are  u  more  to  follow."  The  spider's  web  that  a  breath  would 
sunder,  has  been,  is  weaving,  a  net,  a  cord,  that  will  become  like  a 
chain  to  hold,  and  will  hold  them  like  a  vice  to  the  last. 

We  stood  upon  one  of  the  beautiful  bluffs,  that  line  the  shore  of 
the'"  Father  of  Waters,"  one  beautiful  June  day,  just  before  the  sun 
had  dropped  behind  the  western  horizon,  and  were  watching  one  ot 
those  grand  floating  palaces  gliding  along  down  stream,  freighted 
with  human  life.  The  passengers  were  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of 
a  voyage,  wherein  all  was  so  delightful  and  with  the  brightest  antici- 
pations of  its  happy  termination,  and  the  glad  welcome  awaiting 
them  from  loving  friends,  far  away — but  hark !  a  fearful  crash  is 
heard.  Screams  of  alarm  and  terror  break  the  stillness  of  that  quiet 
hour!  We  look  for  the  floating  palace ;  it  is  sinking  and  passengers 
are  leaping  overboard,  or  climbing  to  the  upper  deck.  The  river  is 
strewn  with  broken  planks  and  freight.  The  pilot  had  missed  his 
course  just  a  little  and  discovered  it  too  late,  and  the  boat  had  struck 
a  pier,  cutting  a  broad  slice  off  from  stem  to  stern,  carrying  with  it 
one  of  her  wheels,  breaking  all  connection  with  steering  apparatus. 
The  boat  was  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  current  which  was  rapidly 
sweeping  her  down  stream  and  she  was  rapidly  sinking  to  the  bottom. 
In  less  than  five  minutes  the  magnificent  palace  had  gone  to  pieces 
and  rested  on  the  bed  of  the  river.  At  the  stern  a  man,  a  crimi- 
nal in  the  hands  of  the  law,  being  carried  to  prison,  had  been 
chained.  When  the  passengers  were  fleeing  for  safely  to  the  upper 
deck  he  was  fast.  The  waters  gathered  about  his  feet  as  the  boat 
was  sinking.  He  could  not  break  the  chain ;  the  iron  bolt  would 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  119 

not  give  way.  He  struggled  in  his  terror;  in  his  desperation  he 
pulled  hard  to  break  away  from  his  fastenings.  The  chain  he  could 
not  break.  He  cries  for  help,  "  Oh,  save  me!  help!  help! "  There 
were  none  to  help.  No  one  could  help.  In  his  agony,  in  his  des- 
pair, crying  for  help,  the  waters  closed  over  his  head  and  he  went 
to  the  bottom  chained  fast.  How  terrible  are  the  final  consequences 
of  the  slighest  departure  from  the  pathway  of  virtue.  How  easily 
could  the  first  step  towards  the  final  catastrophe  been  left  untaken. 
The  demon  of  drink  weaves  a  web  around  the  feet  of  its  devo- 
tees so  quietly,  silently,  that  the  poor  victim  knows  it  not  until 
he  arrives  at  the  verge  of  the  awful  abyss  which  yawns  to  receive 
him.  In  his  horror  he  awakes  for  a  moment  to  behold  the  awful  fate 
that  is  looking  him  squarely,  sternly,  in  the  face,  and  in  his  despe- 
ration he  makes  one  mighty  struggle  to  break  the  bonds — the  iron 
bonds  that  have  bound  him— but  in  vain.  Once  a  prattling  child, 
the  bright  eyed  boy,  the  mother's  pride,  who  so  often  had  nestled  on 
a  fond  mother's  lap,  and  who  had  so  often  looked  in  his  bright  face, 
and  on  whom  she  had  placed  her  hopes  to  lead  her  gently  along 
down  the  declining  years  of  her  life,  as  she  was  leading  him  so  lov- 
ingly, so  gently  up  to  his  years  of  strength,  to  manhood,  to  fill  an 
honored  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  good  and  true,  how  terrible  the 
revelation.  Swept  away  forever,  and  she  mourns  over  the  grave  of 
her  fond  hopes,  buried  beyond  recovery,  and  darkness  gathers  around 
her  lonely  door.  Vainly  she  listens  for  the  footsteps  that  come  not — 
looking  for  and  welcoming  the  grim  messenger  that  will  bear  her 
to  a  gentle  resting  place,  where  unwelcome  scenes  and  disappointed 
hopes  will  be  forgotten. 

Young  man,  where  do  you  stand  ?  Are  your  feet  in  the  meshes  of 
that  web  V 

"WANTED — A  BOY  TO  ATTEND  BAR." 

We  have  often  seen  in  the  newspapers  notices  similar  to  this,  and 
one  of  the  requirements  often  added  thereto  was,  that  the  applicant 
must  not  use  liquor.  Sober  men,  yes,  temperance  men  or  boys  only, 
are  wanted  to  deal  out  the  soul-destroying  poison.  Here  is  a  tem- 
perance lecture  from  the  drunkard-makers  themselves.  Why  is  it 
that  saloon  keepers,  and  liquor  sellers  desire  total  abstinence  men  as 
their  employes?  If  liquor  is  of  any  benefit  to  men  in  other  e-m- 


120  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

ployments  why  is  it  not  beneficial  to  him  who  deals  it  out?  The 
seller  of  liquor  knows  full  well  the  value  of  temperance,  when  prac- 
ticed by  those  he  employs  and  trusts;  and  also  the  curse  it  brings 
upon  those  who  are  addicted  to  its  use. 

Mr.  Lill,  the  well-known  Chicago  brewer  before  the  great  fire, 
when  burned  out  upon  that  event,  was  afterwards  asked  if  he  in- 
tended to  rebuild.  He  replied,  "No;  I  have  seen  all  I  care  to  see 
of  the  business."  "  But  what  will  the  people  do  for  want  of  Lill's 
ale?"  they  asked.  His  answer  was :  "Go  without  it;  it  will  be  bet- 
ter for  them." 

Jay  Gould,  the  greatest  railroad  magnate  in  the  world,  does  not 
use,  nor  did  he  ever  use,  liquors  of  any  kind,  or  tobacco  in  any  form. 
The  man  who  can  so  manipulate  financial  affairs  as  to  make  three 
million  dollars  at  one  grand  stroke,  keeps  his  head  clear  from  the 
fumes  and  fogs  of  liquor  and  tobacco. 

General  Grant,  at  the  banquet  given  in  his  honor  in  Chicago, 
turned  his  glass  bottom  side  up,  and  kept  it  so.  He  does  not  use 
liquors.  He  told  the  professors  at  Girard  College,  in  Philadelphia, 
not  to  let  the  students  of  that  institution  use  tobacco  in  any  form. 
Yet  General  Grant  is  an  inveterate  smoker.  If  it  is  good  for  a  man 
to  smoke  tobacco,  why  does  he  give  advice  against  its  use  ? 

The  commander  of  the  Annapolis  Naval  School  advises  his  stu- 
dents to  not  use  tobacco  in  any  form,  and  says :  "  No  gentlemen  will 
be  seen  smoking  on  the  street." 

Dr.  Dudley  A  Sargent,  director  of  the  Harvard  gymnasium,  says 
that  of  the  large  number  of  students  he  has  already  examined,  at 
least  one-half  suffer  to  a  considerable,  and  in  many  cases  to  an 
alarming  extent,  from  palpitation  and  other  affections  of  the  heart, 
caused  by  excessive  cigarette  smoking,  and  by  drinking  strong 
coffee. 

P.  T.  Barnum,  the  "greatest  showman  on  earth,"  who  is  now 
"  three  score  and  ten,"  was  lately  congratulated  by  a  friend  as  being 
"just  as  hale  and  hearty  as  he  was  ten  years  ago."  Mr.  Barnuin 
replied :  "  I  ought  not  to  be,  my  dear  sir.  I  am  an  old  man.  I'm 
seventy,  though  you'd  hardly  believe  it.  But  I  gave  up  rum  and 
tobacco  years  ago.  I  haven't  smoked  a  cigar  for  eighteen  years,  nor 
have  I  tasted  a  drop  of  liquor  for  many  more  years.  That  has  kept 
me  young  and  hearty." 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  121 

TEMPERANCE. 

One  of  the  best  and  strongest  arguments  against  the  use  of  liquors 
or  stimulants  of  any  kind,  is  the  fact  that  trainers  of  prize  fighters, 
teachers  of  the  science  of  mauling  with  the  fists,  to  bring  out  full 
muscular  development  and  power  of  endurance,  require  their  stu- 
dents to  abstain  from  the  use  of  liquors  or  stimulants  of  every  kind. 
Even  coffee  and  tobacco  are  forbidden.  Occasionally  a  cup  of 
weak  black  tea  is  allowed.  The  trainers  of  young  men  for  rowing 
matches  impose  the  same  restrictions  upon  their  pupils.  If  liquor 
is  good  for  the  system,  if  it  gives  strength,  and  powers  of  endurance, 
why  do  these  professors  of  the  "  manly  art "  forbid  its  use. 

TOBACCO   AS   VILE   AS   WHISKY. 

Whisky  drinking  is  a  terrible  evil,  a  curse,  and  the  use  of  tobacco 
is  but  one  step  behind,  at  the  farthest,  on  the  road  to  ruin.  A  young 
man  commences  with  the  cigar;  smoking  creates  thirst;  but  he  is  a 
fashionable  young  man — "no  vile  whisky  for  him;  wine  is  the  only 
thing  fit  to  drink."  Yes,  but  we  can  right  here  tell  a  sad  tale  of  a 
young  man  of  this  city,  (now  dead),  who  went  from  a  glass  of  wine 
down,  down  to  the  lowest  den  on  Front  street  to  quench  his  burning 
thirst  for — 40  rod  whisky.  It  was  the  first  glass  of  wine  that  made 
him  a  drunkard.  It  is  the  first  glass  of  liquor  that  makes  any  man 
a  drunkard.  Cigars  and  wine  always  keep  close  company. 

To  us  the  breath  of  a  man  who  uses  liquor  is  not  worse  than  the 
man  who  is  constantly  breathing  out  the  most  vile,  sickening,  nau- 
seating and  deadly  emanations  of  the  fumes  of  some  cigar  or 
villainous  old  pipe;  whose  person  presents  the  most  disgusting  ap- 
pearance. We  pity  the  wife  of  a  drunkard  and  none  the  less  the 
wife  of  an  inveterate  tobacco  eater.  We  are  happy  to  know  that 
there  are  ladies  in  Davenport,  Des  Moines,  St.  Louis  and  other  cities 
at  whose  homes  no  tobacco  user  can  find  a  welcome. 

We  are  glad  to  know  that  no  minister  can  now  enter  the  Metho- 
dist pulpit  in  Iowa  who  uses  tobacco  in  any  form.  Tobacco  users 
are  precisely  on  the  same  ground  that  whisky  drinkers  occupy. 
Each  acknowledges  fully  the  use  is  a  bad  habit  and  injurious,  and 
wish  they  could  leave  off  and  would  if  they  could.  When  you  ask 
a  man  to  leave  off  using  tobacco,  and  he  replies  that  he  can't,  tell 
him  it  is  because  he  will  not — that  is  all. 


122  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

How  can  temperance  reformers  expect  to  reform  the  drunkard^ 
when  the  habit  of  using  tobacco  has  coiled  around  them  a  chain  so 
tight  and  strong  that  they  are  powerless,  that  they  cannot  sunder  it. 
Then  tobacco  is  the  greater  tyrant,  the  greater  evil.  "  Oh,  I  shall 
die  if  I  leave  off."  Die  then,  we  say,  the  sooner  the  better,  though 
we  cannot  find  in  the  Bible  any  place  for  them  in  heaven,  for  "wo 
drunkards"  can  enter,  nor  anything  "that  is  filthy."  If  that  does 
not  mean  tobacco  users  we  cannot  read  correctly.  "  Oh,  my  doctor 
says  I  ought  to  use  it."  Yes,  doctors  give  prussic  acid  and  other 
deadly  poisons.  Doctors  use  it !  Yes,  they  use  whisky,  too.  Some 
doctors  have  neither  sense  or  reason.  We  know  one  who  claims  he 
has  "  cut  up  people  by  the  score,  and  he  never  found  a  soul,  and  didn't 
believe  there  was  any."  Yet  some  of  the  medical  talent  say  that 
"  tobacco  kills  as  many  people  as  whisky."  We  never  bought  or 
knew  the  taste  of  whisky,  or  used  tobacco  in  any  form,  but  believe 
they  are  alike  a  terrible  curse  to  our  land,  and  the  cause  of  all,  or 
nearly  all,  the  woes  human  flesh  is  heir  to. 

We  recently  visited  that  great,  noble  institution,  Cooper  Institute, 
New  York  City,  where  hundreds  of  young  men  and  women  are  en- 
joying its  most  liberal  advantages.  Its  varied  scientific  courses,  the 
weekly  lectures  and  its  great  library  are  all  free.  The  annual  cost 
to  Mr.  Cooper  is  fifty-six  thousand  dollars.  Yet  with  all  his  liberality 
he  is  in  one  particular  a  perfect  despot,  a  tyrant.  He  hates  tobacco. 
At  every  turn  is  a  notice  which  reads,  "  The  use  of  tobacco  in  this 
building,  in  any  form,  is  strictly  forbidden." 

We  also  visited  the  new  Art  Museum  in  Central  Park,  where  it 
would  require  weeks  of  time  to  examine  all  its  rare  curiosities,  its 
relics  of  past  ages,  its  magnificent  paintings.  The  building  and 
the  arrangement  for  displaying  everything  to  the  best  advantage 
seemed  to  us  a  model  of  perfection,  only  marred  by  scores  of  notices 
that  stared  out  at  every  one  at  every  turn.  These  were  notices  to  to- 
bacco squirtersthat  if  caught  spitting  upon  the  floor  the  police  would 
at  once  arrest  them  and  walk  them  out  of  the  museum.  The  police 
were  there  watching  for  the  man  who  dares  to  "  spit  on  the  floor." 

We  are  glad  to  see  that  railroad  companies  are  becoming  disgusted 
with  tobacco  eaters.  Notices  like  this  are  being  placed  in  their 
coaches:  "Every  tobacw  chewing  gentleman  will  have  the  gallantry  to 
keep  the  ladies'  coach  clean,  by  riding  in  the  forward  car  while  chew  ing." 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  123 

Of  tobacco  users,  J.  B.  T.  Marsh,  in  the  Sunday  School  Times, 
says:  "  I  don't  believe,  other  things  being  equal,  there  is  any  other 
class  of  men  who  show  such  a  disregard  in  public  for  other  people's 
comfort  as  tobacco  users  do.  I  don't  mean  the  chewers  who  spit  in 
country  churches  and  leave  their  filthy  puddles  on  car  floors. 
They're  hogs.  A  man  would  be  considered  a  rowdy  or  a  boor  who 
should  wilfully  spatter  mud  on  the  clothing  of  a  lady  as  she  passed 
him  on  the  sidewalk.  But  a  lady  to  whom  tobacco  fumes  are  more 
offensive  than  mud  can  hardly  walk  the  streets  in  these  days,  but 
that  men  who  call  themselves  gentlemen — iand  who  are  gentlemen 
in  most  other  respects — blow  their  cigar  smoke  into  her  face  at 
almost  every  step.  Smokers  drive  non-smokers  out  of  the  gentle- 
men's cabins  on  the  ferry  boats,  and  gentlemen's  waiting  rooms  in 
railway  stations,  monopolizing  these  public  rooms  as  coolly  as  if 
they  only  had  any  rights  in  them.  I  can't  explain  such  phenomena 
except  on  the  theory  that  tobacco  befogs  the  moral  sense  and  makes 
men  specially  selfish." 

If  some  of  the  inveterate  tobacco  eaters  were  compelled  to  get 
down  on  their  hands  and  knees  and  lick  up  their  filth  expectorated 
on  the  floor  of  an  elegant  coach,  it  would  do  them  good.  We  wish 
railroad  officials  had  the  power  to  make  them  do  it. 

The  consumers  of  tobacco  are  specially  liable  to  heart  disease ;  so 
say  the  best  medical  writers  on  the  subject. 


"  Scent  to  match  thy  rich  perfume 
Chemic  art  did  ne'er  presume, — 
Through  her  quaint  alembic  strain, 
None  so  sovereign  to  the  brain. 
Nature  that  did  in  thee  excel, 
Framed  again  no  second  smell. 
Roses,  violets,  but  toys 
For  the  smaller  sort  of  boys, 
Or  for  greener  damsels  meant; 
Thou  art  the  only  manly  scent." 

"Stinkingest  of  the  stinking  kind! 
Filth  of  the  mouth  and  fog  of  the  mind! 
Africa,  that  brags  her  foyson, 
Breeds  no  such  prodigious  poison!" 

—Charles  Lamb's  " Farewell  to  Tobacco." 


THE  MAGNITUDE  OF  TRIFLES. 

One  of  the  prime  causes  of  failure,  is  the  ignoring  of  small  things 
in  detail — the  insignificant  matters  as  they  are  styled.  The  forget- 
ting or  neglecting  to  dot  an  "  i "  or  cross  a  "  t "  has  swept  away 
fortunes.  The  failure  to  close  a  door  or  to  turn  a  key  has  laid  great 
blocks  of  buildings  in  ashes,  causing  not  only  the  loss  of  the  prop- 
erty, but  throwing  hundreds  of  poor  people  out  of  employment,  to 
suffer  therefrom.  The  old  story,  of  the  loss  of  the  nail  from  the 
shoe  of  the  horse,  where  horse,  rider  and  battle  were  lost,  is  true,  in 
fact,  in  a  thousand  ways.  It  is  the  grain  of  sand  that  turns  the  scale. 
It  is  the  ounces  that  make  the  pounds,  and  the  pounds  that  make 
the  tons;  the  cents  that  make  the  dollars,  the  dollars  that  make  the 
fortunes.  A  flake  of  snow  comes  sailing  gracefully  down — "the 
beautiful  snow."  A  breath  will  dissolve  the  falling  flake  into  a 
drop,  causing  it  to  weep.  Another  and  another  of  the  tiny  little 
white  winged  messenger  falls  upon  the  ground  and  in  a  little  while 
everything  is  mantled  in  snowy  drapery.  How  gracefully  it  sits 
upon  the  trees  and  every  thing,  hiding  the  many  unsightly  objects 
with  its  snowy  whiteness.  A  charming  sight.  Look  at  a  flake 
under  a  glass.  What  artist  can  design  so  unique  a  pattern.  It  is 
perfection.  How  innocent  and  so  harmless.  They  keep  coming. 
The  winged  messengers  are  light  as  a  feather.  They  drop  upon  the 
roofs  of  all  the  buildings,  each  little  flake  adds  its  mite.  Happy 
children !  They  lie  down  close  together  in  their  downy  bed.  No 
quarreling,  as  silently  they  take  their  places,  adding  slowly  to  the 
weight,  until  down  goes  the  roof  upon  the  worshippers  below,  and 
scores  are  crushed  to  death.  Many  people  are  crippled  for  life  by 
the  "  beautiful  snow,"  that  came  so  noiseless  down  and  rested  upon 
the  roof. 

The  iron  horse  sweeps  through  the  fleecy  whiteness,  whirling  and 
crushing  the  beautiful  crystals  under  its  heavy  wheels.  It  laughs 
to  see  them  light  upon  its  hot  boiler,  and  dissolve  in  tears.  They 
come  down  all  the  same  and  cover  the  track.  The  iron  horse  be- 
gins to  tire,  as  the  snow  packs  around  the  rails,  and  from  a  forty 
mile  pace  it  comes  down  to  twenty,  to  ten,  to  one,  to  a  dead  stop. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  126 

It  is  "  snow  bound,"  and  can  go  neither  forward  nor  backward.  It 
snorts  and  puffs  and  blows,  but  it  is  no  go.  The  snow  has  bound  it 
fast;  it  is  a  prisoner.  So  silently  gathers  around  one's  footsteps, 
imperceptible  influences  for  good  or  evil.  Only  by  watching  closely 
the  pathway  can  we  know  whither  they  are  leading  us. 

TRIFLES — LITTLE  THINGS. 

Trifles,  lighter  than  air  turn  the  scales  for  weal  or  woe,  deciding 
the  destinies  of  nations  and  of  individuals.  The  greatest  events  in 
the  world's  history  turn  on  the  smallest  pivot.  There  are  no  such 
things  as  little  things  or  little  moments,  when  weighed  in  the  scales 
of  the  mighty  possibilities.  The  briefest  point  of  time  marked  by 
the  ticking  of  the  clock,  is  fraught  with  momentous  consequences, 
and  there  is  often  crowded  into  one  of  those  almost  inconceivable 
spaces  of  time  the  greatest  events  of  the  world's  history.  It  is  but 
yes  or  no  that  sheaths  the  sword  or  draws  it,  to  deluge  the  world  in 
blood.  It  was  but  the  falling  of  a  tear  drop  that  made  Washington 
the  father  of  his  country,  the  first  president  of  the  United  States.  It 
is  but  the  moving  of  a  lever  a  few  inches  that  saves  a  train  from  a 
plunge  into  the  abyss.  It  is  on  the  breaking  of  a  hair  spring  in  a 
conductor's  watch  and  two  minutes  silence,  and  two  crowded  express 
trains,  under  fearful  headway,  come  together;  an  awful  wreck  re- 
suits;  the  wounded,  and  the  dying,  fill  the  air  with  their  wails  of 
pain  and  anguish.  Upon  the  breaking  of  so  small  a  thing  as  a 
hair  spring  of  a  watch  the  effect  is  felt  around  the  world.  Tears 
and  sorrow  darken  scores  of  happy  homes,  mourning  for  the  loved 
ones  who  are  never  to  return;  happy  families  are  scattered  to  meet 
no  more,  and  tender  feet  must  travel  life's  rough  journey  alone  in 
sorrow's  darkening  patlrway. 

THE  CHICAGO  FIRE. 

The  morning  after  the  great  fire  that  laid  Chicago  in  ashes,  we 
walked  amid  the  ruins  of  palatial  residences,  elegant  churches, 
stately  hotels,  and  the  great  blocks  of  the  merchant  princes,  viewing 
the  desolation.  Here  and  there  a  tall  column  or  chimney  stood  in 
solemn  silence,  monuments  of  departed  glory  and  blasted  hopes. 
Streets  were  blocked  and  made  impassable  by  the  debris.  It  baffles 
all  description,  the  utter  desolation  and  ruin  that  reigned  supreme 


126  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

At  night  the  scene  changed.  The  blackness  and  darkness  was 
lighted  like  as  by  tea  thousand  camp  fires,  blazing  from  ten 
thousand  cellars,  from  coal  that  had  been  laid  in  for  winter;  while 
on  the  wharves  acres  of  anthracite  coal  was  one  living  mass  of  fire, 
casting  a  wierd  and  ghostly  glare  that  was  hideous  to  behold.  This 
terrible  calamity,  the  burning  up  of  2,100  acres  of  costly  business 
blocks  and  happy  homes,  all  came  from  the  burning  of  a  little  cow- 
stable,  fired  by  a  cow  kicking  over  a  lamp.  One  little  match  not 
larger  than  a  pin  head  lighted  the  lamp.  Several  hundred  million 
dollars  worth  of  property  were  consumed;  many  lives  were  lost  in 
the  conflagration,  and  hundreds  died  from  the  terrible  ordeal  they 
pass'ed  through.  Thousands  of  happy  homes  were  broken  up  and 
ruined.  Business  men,  men  who  had  made  their  fortunes  and  re- 
tired to  spend  their  days  in  quiet  enjoyment  of  delightful  homes, 
were  ruined,  made  penniless,  and  dependent  on  charity  for  bread 
and  shelter.  Broken-hearted  some  became  insane,  others  committed 
suicide.  This  awful  calamity,  the  result  of  firing  a  single  match! 
Whisky  lighted  the  match.  Friends  from  the  old  country  must  be 
entertained;  a  milk  punch  must  be  made,  and  Mother  O'Leary's 
cow  must  furnish  the  milk ;  and  the  cow  was  waited  upon.  New 
hands  attempted  to  do  the  milking,  the  cow  objected,  and  let  her 
heels  fly,  and  the  lamp  is  broken.  A  match,  a  stroke  of  the  hand, 
so  little  a  thing,  a  flash  and  it  is  done.  What  possibilities  are 
crowded  into  a  single  beat  of  the  pendulum. 

A   CITY  DESTROYED. 

Many  years  ago,  a  dyke  was  built  on  the  coast  of  Holland  to  keep 
out  the  sea  from  the  low  lands,  which  became  the  homes  of  happy 
families  and  industrious  farmers.  A  city  was  built.  Everybody 
dwelt  apparently  in  perfect  security.  Suddenly  the  dyke  gave  way, 
and  the  sea  rolled  in  upon  the  farmers,  quickly  swallowing  up  their 
lands  and  homes.  The  waves  rolled  against  the  city.  Great  blocks 
of  buildings  went  down  before  their  resistless  fury.  Every  succeed- 
ing wave  rose  higher  and  higher,  accumulating  greater  power,  as 
they  rolled  on.  What  brie-half  hour  before  were  beautiful  fields  of 
waving  grain,  and  happy  homes,  the  thronged  streets  and  crowded 
market  places  of  a  great  city,  became  the  home  of  the  sea.  The 
noise  and  bustle  of  the  city  was  hushed  into  silence.  As  the  great 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  127 

waves  rolled  on  in  their  grandeur,  they  chanted  a  requiem  over  the 
dead  buried  beneath  their  waves,  in  the  deep  diapason  notes  of  old 
ocean.  The  low,  sad  wail  of  woe  was  wafted  landward,  over  hill 
and  dale  and  the  dark  mantle  of  mourning  was  seen  everywhere  in 
Holland.  For  a  century  tears  ceased  not  to  fall  over  buried  hopes 
and  bright  anticipations,  for  a  morrow  that  came  not.  And  why 
this  awful  calamity?  A  little  animal,  a  muskrat,  digs  a  little  hole 
in  the  dyke  and  the  water  follows  it  and  trickles  through  the  dyke. 
A  handful  of  clay  would  have  closed  it  up.  It  increases  in  size  by 
the  wear  of  the  water.  Nobody  is  alarmed.  No  attention  is  paid 
to  it.  Bye-and-bye  the  tide  rolls  in ;  the  dyke  yields  to  the  pressure, 
and  the  little  hole  of  the  muskrat  becomes  an  immense  gateway  to 
let  the  floods  in  upon  the  careless  inhabitants.  Too  late  they  awake 
from  their  sleepy  lethargy. 

It  was  but  a  little  thing  that  opened  the  way  for  the  sea.  It  is  but 
a  little  thing  that  turns  a  young  man  from  the  right  to  the  wrong. 
It  is  but  a  little  word,  a  little  deed,  at  the  right  or  wrong  time,  that 
leads  on  to  momentous  results  for  good  or  evil.  The  great  scales 
turn  on  a  very  small  pivot,  great  events  hinge  upon  the  tick  of  the 
watch,  the  swing  of  the  pendulum. 

FOURTH   OF  JULY   TIME. 

The  city  of  Portland,  Maine,  was  visited  by  a  most  disastrous  fire 
on  one  fourth  of  July  A  little  boy  lights  a  fire-cracker,  gives  it  a 
"send  off,"  and  it  falls  upon  a  roof  of  a  house.  The  wind  fans  it 
into  a  blaze;  it  burns  the  house;  the  wind  drives  the  sparks  to  ad- 
joining houses,  setting  them  on  fire.  The  wind  increases  and  sweeps 
the  fire  along  furiously;  it  leaps  from  house  to  house  from  street  to 
street  until  a  great  portion  of  the  city  is  in  ashes.  The  glorious  fourth 
ends  in  a  night  of  sadness,  of  sorrow,  of  desolation  and  death. 
Hundreds  of  happy  homes  and  happy  families  are  ruined,  all  to 
gratify  the  sport  and  fun  of  a  little  boy  with  a  fire-cracker.  The 
effect  of  that  little  boy's  fun  was  felt  that  day,  to-day,  and  will  be 
felt  for  all  time.  It  killed  the  brightest  hopes  of  thousands,  took 
from  them  their  property,  their  all.  Happy  families  were  broken 
up,  some  of  the  members  carried  to  their  last  resting  places;  others 
were  left  to  linger  in  pain  and  sorrow,  while  some  became  insane 
and  went  to  the  insane  asylum,  raving  maniacs,  and  some  committed 


128  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

suicide.  One  little  act  of  one  little  boy  with  one  little  fire-cracker 
and  one  little  match,  set  in  motion  a  train  of  events,  the  results  of 
which  will  never  cease — never  end.  What  are  trifles  when  weighed 
in  the  scales  of  mighty  possibilities?  The  least  divergence  of  a 
millionth  part  of  an  inch  at  the  outset. 

A  worm  is  a  trifle  compared  to  a  lion  or  a  whale,  yet  it  has  sunk 
many  a  ship  with  its  little  auger.  The  little  insect  that  builds  the 
coral  reefs  on  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  is  possessed  of  but  little 
physical  strength,  yet  it  works  on  until  it  forms  a  sea  wall,  over 
which  the  great  ships  cannot  sail ;  and  many  have  been  lost  by  run- 
ning upon  them. 

A  lame  man  was  walking  in  Pittsburgh  one  day  when  the  walks 
were  slippery,  and  he  fell  and  his  hat  rolled  along  the  sidewalk.  A 
boy  came  along  and  gave  it  a  kick,  sending  it  out  into  the  street. 
Another  boy  came  along,  helped  the  poor  man  up,  picked  up  his 
hat,  and  assisted  him  to  his  hotel.  He  asked  the  boy  his  name,  and 
thanked  him  for  his  kindness  and  assistance.  One  day  about  a 
month  after,  there  came  a  draft  for  the  boy  who  didn't  kick  the 
lame  man's  hat,  for  one  thousand  dollars.  It  was  a  little  thing,  but 
it  paid. 

It  has  been  calculated  that  if  a  single  grain  of  wheat  produces 
fifty  grains  in  one  year's  growth,  and  these  and  succeeding  crops  be 
counted,  and  yield  proportionately,  the  produce  of  the  twelfth  year 
would  suffice  to  supply  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  for  a  life- 
time ;  in  twelve  years  the  single  grain  will  have  multiplied  itself 
244,140,625,000,000  times. 

DISCOVERY  OF   STEAM. 

About  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago  a  little  boy  came  in  from 
play  and  sat  down  on  a  bench  in  the  chimney  corner  of  his  mother's 
kitchen,  "  tired  and  hungry."  While  waiting  and  watching  his 
mother  prepare  the  supper,  his  attention  was  attracted  to  the  sing- 
ing of  the  tea  kettle,  which  hung  on  the  crane  over  the  fire  in  the 
old-fashioned  fire-place.  Soon  the  water  within  was  boiling,  and  hot 
steam  poured  out  of  the  nose  of  the  kettle.  As  the  water  became 
hotter,  faster  it  generated  into  steam,  faster  than  it  could  escape  out 
of  the  nose,  and  it  forced  up  the  lid  and  kept  it  dancing  to  the 
music  of  the  escaping  vapor  as  it  rose  and  fell.  Soon  the  supper 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  129 

was  ready,  and  the  family  excepting  the  little  boy  were  seated  at  the 
table  and  had  commenced  eating. 

Several  times  the  mother  had  called  her  little  boy  to  "come  to 
supper,  Jimmy,"  but  Jimmy  did  not  come,  and  she  wondered  why 
that  boy  didn't  come  to  his  supper,  when  he  was  so  tired  and  hun- 
gry. Quietly  she  left  the  table,  and  stepped  to  the  kitchen  door, 
which  was  standing  ajar,  and  looked  in  to  see  what  "  that  boy  was  up 
to."  He  was  still  sitting  on  the  bench  watching  the  "steaming  ket- 
tle," and  its  "  dancing  lid,"  spell-bound.  His  young  and  inquisitive 
mind  was  tiying  to  solve  the  reason  why  the  tea  kettle  lid  should 
keep  "  hopping  up  and  down."  He  solved  the  mystery  by  discov- 
ering that  it  was  from  the  power  that  was  in  the  steam.  He  was  the 
first  one  to  "harness  up"  this  new  found  power  and  bid  it  to  "turn 
the  wheel ; "  and  from  that  day  to  this  it  has  not  refused  to  obey  the 
order  with  alacrity. 

So  to  that  little  boy,  James  Watt,  sitting  on  a  bench  in  the  chim- 
ney corner,  waiting  for  his  supper,  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  dis- 
covery of  the  power  there  is  in  steam.  And  what  a  mighty  power  I 
What  would  become  of  the  railroads,  the  steamships,  and  the  ten 
thousand  industries  of  the  world  of  which  steam  is  now  the  propelling 
power,  should  it  cease  to  "turn  the  wheel,"  or  fire  and  water  should 
fail  to  generate  steam  ?  Every  wheel,  every  shaft,  every  spindle  now 
driven  by  steam,  would  come  to  a  stand-still.  The  hum  of  the  man- 
ufactories of  the  world  would  be  hushed  into  silence.  Millions  of 
people  would  be  thiown  out  of  employment,  millions  would  be 
driven  to  the  wall,  to  starvation,  to  death.  A  greater  calamity  is 
hardly  possible  to  conceive. 

Steam  not  onl}r  affords  employment  to  a  host  of  people,  but  it  is  a 
great  civilizer  of  nations;  it  is  the  world's  best  educator.  Where- 
ever  goes  the  "  steam  wagon,"  goes  along  with  it  light  and  intelli- 
gence, dispelling  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the  darker  ages. 

ELECTRICITY — ITS  POWER. 

Dr.  Franklin  sent  up  his  little  silk  kite  to  the  clouds,  while  a 
thunder  stoim  was  passing  over  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  A  frail 
string  held  the  kite  under  his  control.  He  placed  a  door  key  on  the 
string,  and  with  that  key  he  unlocked  the  doors  to  a  new  world — 
the  world  of  electricity— and  left  them  unlocked.  Dr.  Morse  was 


130  RENTS  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

anxious  to  explore  this  new  world,  to  learn  of  its  elements.  He  soon 
became  acquainted  with  its  peculiarities,  its  fondness  to  "  play  upon 
the  wires,"  its  willingness  to  become  a  very  obedient  servant,  and  he 
"harnessed  up  the  lightning."  He  invented  an  automatic  machine 
which  recorded  each  pulsation  as  it  ran  to  and  fro  upon  Hie  wires. 
And  it  became  the  swift  messenger  of  thought,  and  wires  now  encir- 
cle the  globe,  and  swift  as  the  lightning's  flash,  flashes  tidings 
around  the  world.  To  Professors  Gray,  Bell  and  Edison,  is  accred- 
ited the  honor  of  making  it  "talk,"  not  only  in  one  language,  but  it 
readily  responds  in  any  language  addressed  with  equal  fluency.  It 
is  a  ready  messenger  for  all,  at  all  seasons,  anywhere,  over  trackless 
deserts,  over  mountains  or  under  oceans.  Neither  heat  or  cold  im- 
pedes its  flight.  It  never  tires  or  grows  weary. 

The  telephone  is  the  "mystery  of  mysteries."  How  the  voice 
sweeps  along  the  wire  through  storm  and  tempest,  passing  by  all  the 
babel  and  noises  of  a  great  city,  and  yet  does  not  lose  its  way  or  be- 
come confused  or  unrecognizable  as  it  enters  a  quiet  home,  is  to  us 
incomprehensible.  Electricity,  instead  of  being  a  dreaded  foe  to 
mankind  has  proved  to  be  its  best  friend  and  servant;  one  we  cannot 
dispense  with.  It  has  greater  good  to  render  yet  to  be  developed. 
It  is  to  be  the  great  luminator,  to  light  up  the  darkest  night  into 
the  dazzling  brilliancy  of  the  sun  in  its  strength.  It  is  invaluable 
as  a  remedial  agent.  Its  healing  powers  surpass  all  medicines 
known  to  the  medical  profession. 

Yet  the  greatest  marvel  is  still  to  come.  The  telephone  permits  us 
to  converse  with  friends  hundreds  of  miles  away,  but  the  newly  dis- 
covered diaphoue  brings  friends  face  to  face,  so  that  we  can  not 
only  hear  their  voices,  but  see  them  as  well.  It  is  too  incredible  to 
believe,  but  the  fact  is  nevertheless  affirmed.  What  would  Frank- 
lin or  Morse  say  if  they  could  return  to  earth  and  see  what  wonder- 
ful advancements  have  been  made  in  the  uses  and  appliances  of 
electricity  since  they  left  the  world.  And  yet  how  insignificant 
were  the  appliances  by  which  Dr.  Franklin  obtained  a  practical 
demonstration  of  the  adaptability  of  this  marvelous  agent  to  be- 
come so  willing  a  servant  to  man.  How  immense  is  the  wealth  it 
has  added  to  the  world's  assets.  And  yet  it  cannot  be  bottled 
up  and  packed  away  in  warehouses  for  railroad  kings  and  stock  job- 
bers to  buy  and  sell.  It  is  too  abundant,  it  pervades  all  space  and 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  131 

is  free  as  the  mountain  air.  Speculators  cannot  get  up  "a  corner" 
on  lightning.  They  can  patent  as  many  "  harnesses  "  as  they  please, 
but  they  cannot  "chain  up"  the  lightning,  or  put  it  under  a  pad- 
lock. Nothing  in  the  forces  of  nature  surpasses  electricity  in  its 
intrinsic  value  to  the  welfare  of  the  human  race. 

There  are  no  "  little  things,"  when  linked  to  the  mighty  possibil- 
ities enveloped  in  the  unknowa  future.  No  discovery  in  nature 
dwindles  away  as  its  secrets  are  unfolded  and  revealed  to  human 
conception.  But  each  step  advances  humanity  upward  to  a  greater 
and  grander  existence  as  they  are  unfolded  to  our  comprehension. 
So  it  will  be  for  all  time,  to  all  eternity. 

In  1866  the  Emperor  of  Russia  had  a  narrow  escape  from  assas- 
sination, as  he  was  about  to  step  into  his  carriage.  An  assassin  had 
leveled  his  revolver  at  the  czar,  when  his  arm  was  instantly  struck 
up  by  a  serf  standing  near,  and  the  pistol  was  discharged  in  the  air. 
At  evening  the  serf  was  brought  into  the  presence  of  the  Emperor,, 
and  by  him  was  informed  that  he  had  been  elevated  to  the  rank  and5 
dignity  of  a  nobleman.  It  was  a  trifling  thing  for  the  serf  to  do,, 
but  it  paid  him  to  be  forever  after  a  Russian  nobleman. 

It  always  pays  to  do  a  good  deed.  It  is  a  good  investment.  It  re- 
turns the  largest  of  dividends. 

"Think  nought  a  trifle,  though  it  email  appear,— 
Small  eands  the  mountain,  moments  make  the  year, 

And  trifles  life."  —  Young. 


HAPPY  HOMES. 

A   WIFE. 

"  I  want  (who  does  not  want?)  a  wife,— 

Affectionate  and  fair; 
To  solace  all  the  woes  of  life, 

And  all  its  joys  to  share. 
Of  temper  sweet,  of  yielding  will, 

Of  firm,  yet  placid,  mind,— 
With  all  my  faults  to  love  me  still, 
With  sentiment  refined." 

— John  Quincy  Adams. 

Every  young  man  needs  a  home  of  his  own.  If  he  is  wise  he  will 
in  due  time,  have  one.  The  sooner  he  makes  up  his  mind  to  that 
fact  the  better  it  will  he  for  him.  A  home  should  be  the  best  place 
on  earth.  A  delightful  retreat  to  fly  to  when  the  day's  labors  are 
over;  where  the  care  and  perplexities  of  business  find  no  lodging 
place.  If  a  home  is  not  pleasant,  the  husband  will  seek  other  places 
to  spend  his  evenings.  We  know  of  men  who  belong  to  every  lodge, 
club  and  society  there  are  to  belong  to,  and  are  ready  to  watch  with 
a  "sick  brother"  once  a  week,  simply  because  the  house  they  eat 
and  sleep  in  is  not  a  home.  It  is  wonderful  how  long  a  "sick 
brother"  needs  watchers,  how  he  holds  on  to  life.  We  have  known 
of  that  sick  brother  for  a  quarter  of  a  century ;  we  heard  of  him 
before  we  came  to  the  West ;  and  he  "  still  lives."  He  never  will  die 
until  the  last  man  of  the  last  club  and  lodge  is  dead  and  buried. 

A  New  Hampshire  woman  has  a  husband  who  is  addicted  to  join- 
ing secret  societies.  One  of  her  exasperated  outbursts  is  thus  re- 
ported: "  Jine!  He'd  jine  anything.  There  can't  nothing  come 
along  that's  dark  and  sly  and  hidden,  but  he'll  jine  it.  If  anybody 
should  get  up  a  society  to  burn  his  house  down,  he'd  jine  it  just  as 
soon  as  he  could  get  in,  and  if  he  had  to  pay  to  get  in  he'd  go  all 
the  suddener." 

To  have  a  happy  home  there  must  be  a  similarity  of  tastes  between 
husband  and  wife,  a  congeniality  of  desires  and  aspirations.  If  the 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  133 

husband  is  an  ignoramus,  and  the  wife  a  lady  of  refinement  and 
culture,  there  will  not  be  much  social  enjoyment  around  the  even- 
ing lamp. 

The  Arabs  have  a  tradition  that  the  human  race  was  created  in 
halves  and  each  half  sent  out  traveling  around  the  world  to  find  its 
other  half,  and  if  the  right  half  was  found  happiness  was  the  inev- 
itable result.  If  the  wrong  one  was  selected — two  odd  halves — : 
there  was  no  match  and  no  happiness. 

A  young  man  is  very  unwise  to  seek  to  enter  into  society  that  he 
has  no  relish  for,  and  cannot  enjoy.  True  aspiration  to  rise  above 
one's  natural  surroundings  is  very  commendable;  but  to  aspire  to 
move  in  society  entirely  beyond  one's  capacity  for  enjoyment  would 
only  make  him  miserable.  A  man  would  be  foolish  to  run  after 
a  railroad  train  that  he  never  could  overtake.  Equally  foolish  is  it 
for  him  to  try  to  enter  into  society  that  he  cannot  and  never  will  at- 
tain to.  This  excludes  no  one  from  enjoying  happiness  to  his  fullest 
.capacity.  If  you  wish  to  rise  above  your  fellows,  you  have  got 
something  to  do.  Hard  work  and  constant  study,  will  bring  any 
man  into  a  higher  and  better  life.  Beaconsfield  did  not  reach  his 
.place  as  chief  premier  of  England,  by  indolence,  or  by  waiting  for 
luck  to  elevate  him  to  that  high  position.  Far  from  it.  He  be- 
longed to  the  "despised  race," — was  a  Jew;  and  even  after  he  took 
his  seat  in  Parliament,  was  "  hissed  "  down  on  his  first  speech. 
They  do  not  hiss  at  him  now.  There  is  a  preparation  process  re- 
quired  of  every  one  who  wishes  to  rise  above  his  environment.  If  he 
is  not  willing  to  submit  to  the  drill,  he  cannot  expect  promotion. 

FALLING  IN  LOVE. 

Falling  in  love  and  marrying  at  sight  is  just  as  good  as  a  pro- 
longed courtship,  provided  it  should  prove  to  be  a  happy  union.  A 
man  in  the  State  of  Michigan  recently  fell  in  love  with  a  young 
lady  and  married  her  on  the  same  day.  She  was  not  inclined  to  say 
more  than  "yes"  or  "no,"  and  he  attributed  it  to  her  modesty.  It 
increased  the  value  of  the  prize  for  him.  He  was  economical,  and 
.  was  quite  satisfied  with  getting  a  wife  with  no  lost  time  at  courting, 
or  in  neckties;  but,  unfortunately  for  him,  he  quickly  changed  his 
mind  when  he  found  his  neck  was  tied  with  a  tie  he  could  not  untie. 
He  had  married  a  foolish  girl — an  idiot. 


134  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

A  few  days  ago  a  young  lady  in  Illinois  said  she  would  be  mar- 
ried in  fifteen  minutes  if  she  could  find  the  man.  A  friend  hap- 
pened to  know  a  "fifteen  minute  "man  and  brought  him  in  and 
they  were  married.  A  fifteen  minute  courtship  is  just  as  good,  or 
better,  than  a  fifteen  year  courtship,  if  the  right  halves  make  the 
match.  If  they  should  not  match,  what  then?  It  is  dangerous 
business  to  fall  in  love  at  sight.  Better  go  slow. 

We  commend  the  prudence  of  the  young  man  in  the  state  of  Con- 
necticut, who,  after  he  had  courted  his  lady  love  seven  years,  asked 
her,  u  Nellie,  dear,  do  you  think  it  would  be  improper  or  wrong  for 
us  now  to  exchange  a  kiss?"  We  presume  she  did  not. 

We  read  of  a  man  who  fell  in  love  with  a  "  dummy  "  in  a  show 
window.  We  think  it  was  not  reciprocated,  consequently  no  harm 
came  of  it. 

A  young  lady  who  was  rescued  from  a  watery  grave,  and  when 
restored  to  her  senses,  declared  she  would  marry  her  rescuer  at  all 
hazards,  wras  not  a  little  taken  back  to  learn  that  it  was  a  Newfound- 
land dog  that  had  saved  her  life. 

All  matches  are  not  made  in  heaven.  Those  that  have  a  good 
deal  of  fire  and  brimstone  in  their  composition  are  not  made  there. 
Green  hands  cannot  exercise  too  much  caution  about  fooling  with 
dangerous  compounds.  Some  of  these  unequal  matches  "  go  off," 
and  somebody  gets  hurt. 

BUSINESS  IS  BUSINESS. 

In  the  choice  of  a  partner  a  young  man  should  exercise  the 
same  prudence  and  caution  that  he  would  in  any  other  business 
relation.  It  comes  right  down  to  that  with  all  sensible  porsons. 
Every  one  should  go  about  it  in  a  straight- forward  way  and  not  go 
sneaking  around  as  though  one  was  ashamed  of  his  job,  or  was 
going  to  do  some  mean  thing.  When  a  man  of  business  enters  into 
a  co-partnership  he  goes  into  it  intelligently,  consults  those  who  can 
advise  him,  and  can  judge  whether  it  would  be  a  good  move  for 
him.  After  obtaining  all  the  advice  and  the  best  counsel,  he  exer- 
cises his  best  judgment  before  he  commits  himself.  A  life  partner- 
ship is  of  vastly  more  importance  than  that  of  a  mere  business 
partnership.  One  is  for  life,  the  other  may  be  terminated  at  any 
time,  or  at  any  specified  time.  A  young  man  cannot  be  too  careful 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  135 

about  forming  a  life  partnership.  His  whole  life  is  to  be  modified. 
It  is  the  greatest  event  that  will  ever  come  to  him.  lie  needs  there- 
fore to  exercise  the  utmost  care  and  caution  in  selecting  a  life  partner. 
Because  a  lady  can  sing  and  play  the  piano  well,  or  has  a  pretty 
face,  dances  gracefully,  has  a  fine  How  of  language,  reads  French, 
sings  in  Italian,  and  dreams  in  Spanish,  who  has  all  the  showy  ac- 
complishments of  a  fashionable  young  lady,  it  does  not  follow  that 
she  is  a  proper  helpmate  for  a  young  man.  Splendid  parlor  orna- 
ments may  captivate,  and  lead  young  men  to  decide  thoughtlessly 
by  such  exhibitions  of  showy  talents,  but  they  are  very  certain  to 
bring  disappointment  and  miserable  homes. 

THE  MODP:RN  BELLE. 

"  She  sits  in  a  fashionable  parlor, 

And  rocks  in  her  easy  chair: 
She  is  clad  in  her  silks  and  eatins, 

And  jewels  are  in  her  hair; 
She  winks  and  giggles  and  simpers, 

And  simpers  and  giggles  aud  winks; 
And  though  she  talks  but  little. 

'T5s  a  great  deal  more  than  she  thinks. 

"  She  lies  in  bed  in  the  morning 

Till  near  the  hour  of  noon, 
Then  conies  down  snapping  and  snarling 

Because  she  was  called  so  soon; 
Her  hair  is  slill  in  papers, 

Iljr  cheek*  still  fresh  with  paint,— 
Remains  of  her  last  night's  blushes, 

Before  she  intended  to  faint. 


"  She  falls  in  love  with  a  fellow 

Who  swells  with  a  foreign  air; 
He  marries  her  for  her  money, 

She  marries  him  for  his  hair; 
One  of  the  very  best  matches,— 

Both  ate  well  mated  in  life; 
She's  got  a  fool  for  a  hatband, 

JJe'is  got  a  fool  for  a  wife  !  "  —Stark. 

There  are  society  girls  and  home  girls.  One  the  kind  that  appear 
best  abroad — the  girls  that  are  good  for  parties,  visits,  balls,  etc., 
whose  chief  delight  is  in  such  things.  The  other  the  kind  that  ap- 


136  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTAIIY. 

pear  best  at  home — the  girls  that  are  cheerful  and  useful  in  the 
dining-room,  the  sick  room  and  the  precincts  of  home.  They  dilfer 
widely  in  character.  One  is  frequently  a  torment  at  home;  the 
other  is  a  blessing.  One  is  a  moth,  consuming  everything  about  her; 
the  other  is  a  sunbeam,  inspiring  life  and  goodness  all  along  the 
pathway.  Now  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  there  shall  be 
two  classes  of  girls.  The  right  education  would  modify  them  both 
a  little,  and  unite  their  characters  in  one. 

There  are  other  accomplishments  of  much  greater  value  to  a  young 
hian  who  has  to  depend  upon  his  own  labor  for  living.  A  "society 
lady"  would  be  out  of  place  in  his  home.  Such  a  wife  would  be 
miserable  unless  in  the  whirlpool  of  excitement,  giving  or  attending 
fashionable  parties  weekly,  and  would  not  add  to  his  happiness.  A 
wife  who  is  ignorant  of  the  entire  household  duties,  who  is  not  mis- 
tress of  every  department,  is  not  qualified  to  take  charge  of  her 
home.  We  hear  young  ladies,  even  married  ladies,  boast  that  they 
do  not  know  how  to  prepare  a  dinner.  For  a  rich  man  with  plenty 
of  servants,  it  is  all  very  well.  He  can  afford  it.  A  wasteful  house- 
keeper will  ruin  any  young  man.  If  a  young  lady  has  been  accus- 
tomed to  extravagance,  plenty  of  everything  to  do  with,  and  to 
epend,  it  will  be  one  of  the  hardest  lessons  for  her  to  learn,  if  ever 
learned,  when  necessity  compels  her  to  exercise  economy. 

GOOD  HOUSE-KEEPERS  ARE  A  RARITY. 

To  be  a  neat  housekeeper,  a  first  class  cook,  without  wastefulness, 
is  a  rare  gift.  The  French  people  excel  in  making  the  best  out  of 
the  least  and  poorest  material.  Our  line  of  business  has  allowed  us 
unusual  privileges  of  knowing  how  all  classes  of  people  live.  AVe 
have  been  from  cellar  to  attic  in  a  thousand  homes.  We  could  tell 
some  awful  tales  about  the  way  some  homes  are  kept  among  the  bon 
ton.  We  have  seen  a  lady  on  the  street  dressed  like  a  queen  in  her 
eilks  and  satins,  whose  piano  was  covered  with  dust  so  thick  you 
could  not  tell  what  wood  it  was  made  of;  have  seen  the  same  lady 
with  one  fell  swoop  of  her  arm  attempt  to  sweep  the  dust  off,  all  in 
her  street  costume  of  silks.  We  have  been  into  a  costly  mansion, 
costing  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  build,  where  a  square  yard  of  pedi- 
gree, elegantly  framed,  was  hanging  on  the  wall  in  the  hall,  and  thfc 
lady  in  silks  reclining  on  an  elegant  sofa  in  the  parlor.  We  saw 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  137 

the  dining  room  and  the  kitchen  so  dirty  and  filthy  that  it  made  us 
disgusted  to  look  around.  At  the  door  was  thrown  out  to  the  dogs, 
nice  cake,  rich  cuts  of  beef,  large  loaves  of  bread,  etc.,  all  spoiled  in 
baking.  Still  the  square  yard  of  pedigree  hung  on  the  wall  in  the 
front  hall.  We  passed  through  the  chambers  and  saw  even  greater 
sights.  We  saw  the  labors  of  numerous  spiders,  elaborate  festoons 
that  graced  every  corner;  the  delicate  network  sweeping  across 
from  corner  to  corner,  ornamented  with  the  "dust  of  ages."  The 
square  yard  of  pedigree  hung  on  the  wall  in  the  front  hall  all  the 
same.  We  came  to  the  conclusion  that  a  square  yard  of  pedigree  in 
the  front  hall,  was  not  a  diploma  for  superior  housekeeping  accom- 
plishments. Don't  go  too  much  on  "  pedigree." 

A  good  education,  the  very  best  that  can  be  secured,  is  a  very  de- 
sirable accomplishment  for  a  young  lady.  But  when  she  knows 
more  French  than  she  does  of  domestic  economy,  in  our  opinion, 
she  has  too  much  education  to  fill  the  place  of  a  good  housewife 
It  is  not  necessary  that  she  do  all  the  hard  drudgery  of  the  kitchen, 
but  that  all  the  appointments  of  the  kitchen  may  be  properly  car- 
ried out,  economically  as  well  ashygienically,  is  a  science  superior 
to  all  the  knowledge  found  in  books.  The  knowledge  of  French  or 
Italian  will  not  guarantee  good  bread  or  light  biscuit,  or  cook  a 
beefsteak  to  a  turn.  It  is  an  independent  branch  of  education,  and 
one's  health  and  happiness  is  dependent  upon  the  way  the  food  is 
prepared  every  day  and  three  times  each  day.  It  is  what  we  eat  that 
makes  us  hearty,  robust  and  strong,  or  weak  and  puny.  A  thousand 
ills  are  to  be  averted  or  endured  by  the  way  food  is  prepared  in  the 
kitchen.  Charging  up  to  Providence,  sickness,  indigestion,  dyspep- 
sia, and  other  kindred  ills,  is  simply  wickedness,  when  all  these  ills 
are  the  direct  results  of  villainous  cooking.  The  most  nutritious 
and  easily  digested  food  m:iy  be  converted  into  the  most  unwhole- 
some and  indigestible,  by  the  carelessness  and  ignorance  of  the 
eook.  If  you  wish  to  avoid  expense,  wastej  sickness,  doctor's  bills, 
etc.,  you  must  have  the  very  best  information  obtainable  on  the 
subject. 

We  are  very  glad  to  know  that  the  subject  has  been  recently 
brought  before  the  public  and  is  becoming  quite  popular,  and 
schools  established,  where  the  very  best  instructions  and  practice 
are  given  in  the  science  of  cooking.  That  it  has  been  committed  so 


138  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

long  to  the  hands  of  ihe  lowest  and  most  iirnorant  class  of  servants 
to  prepare  the  daily  food  for  the  family,  is  one  of  the  mysterious 
problems  that  we  cannot  solve  on  any  enlightened  hypothesis  to  U8 
known.  The  only  good  that  comes  from  it  is,  that  it  affords  the 
doctors,  druggists,  and  undertakers  much  better  incomes.  It  would 
be  too  bad  to  let  them  die  for  want  of  business.  So  their  patients 
are  sick  and  die  that  they  may  live.  The  cooks  are  in  league  with 
the  doctors. 

WHAT  IOWA  GIRLS  ARE  TAUGHT. 

At  the  Iowa  Agricultural  college  every  girl  in  the  junior  class  has 
learned  how  to  make  good  bread,  weighing  and  measuring  her  in- 
gredients, mixing,  kneading  and  baking,  and  regulating  her  fire. 
Each  has  also  been  taught  to  make  yeast  and  make  biscuit,  pudding, 
pies,  and  cakes  of  various  kinds;  how  to  cook  a  roast,  broil  a  steak, 
and  make  a  fragrant  cup  of  coffee ;  ho\v  to  stuff  and  roast  a  turkey, 
make  oyster  soup,  prep-ire  a  stock  for  other  soups,  steam  and  mash 
potatoes  so  that  they  will  melt  in  the  mouth,  and,  in  short,  to  get  up 
a  first  class  meal,  combining  both  substantial  and  fancy  dishes,  in 
good  style.  Theory  and  manual  skill  have  gone  hand  in  hand.  If 
there  is  anything  that  challenges  the  unlimited  respect  and  devotion 
of  the  masculine  mind  it  is  ability  in  woman  to  order  well  her  own 
household. 

An  education  cannot  be  said  to  be  finished  when  totally  ignorant 
of  the  very  first  laws  of  health.  Perhaps  our  readers  may  ask  what 
this  has  to  do  with  "love,  courtship  and  happy  homes."  It  has 
everything  to  do  with  it.  No  man  can  be  happy  if  he  has  to  eat 
sole  leather,  fried  in  burnt  grease,  or  eat  bread  that  is  as  indigestible 
as  pig  lead.  A  good,  healthy  body  cannot  be  kept  in  running  order 
whenever  laden  with  a  great  burden  that  is  daily  reducing  its 
strength,  sapping  its  life  blood.  When  a  bank  has  to  draw  daily  on 
its  capital  to  meet  running  expenses,  it  is  only  a  matter  of  time  how 
long  it  can  continue  to  do  business.  When  one's  system  is  tasked 
beyond  its  powers  of  endurance,  that  moment  it  begins  to  wear  out. 

Good  wholesome  food,  properly  prepared,  produces  good  blood, 
which  nourishes  brain,  bone  and  muscle.  Happiness  to  every 
family  has  its  headquarters  in  the  culinary  department  of  the 
kitchen.  It  ihe  manipulations  of  the  cooking  process  are  at  fault 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  130 

or  defective,  the  whole  domestic  economy  will  suffer,  and  unhappi- 
ucss  follows.  A  fretty  and  restless  child  destroys  much  comfort  and 
enjoyment  of  a  household.  All  this  is  often  occasioned  by  the  indi- 
gestible food  that  the  child  is  compelled  to  eat.  It  is  simply  inhu- 
man to  compel  children  to  eat  food  that  is  unfit  for  them.  We 
believe  it  would  be  a  wise  provision  of  law  that  no  girl  could 
marry  without  having  first  passed  an  examination  and  received  a 
diploma  certifying  to  her  qualifications  by  experience  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  hygiene  of  the  kitchen.  We  see  no  reason  why  laws 
should  not  be  made  to  cover  the  proper  preparation  of  food  as  well  as 
the  adulterations  of  it.  It  is  due  to  the  health  of  the  community 
that  only  pure  articles  of  food  shall  be  sold  and  used ;  also  that  pure 
articles  of  food  shall  not  be  converted  into  poison.  One  is  as  bad  as 
the  other.  The  time  is  near  at  hand  when  it  will  be  fashionable, 
when  it  will  be  a  great  acquisition,  to  know  how  to  prepare  the 
choicest  dishes  for  those  in  health,  as  also  for  the  invalid  ;  when  the 
highest  art  will  be,  not  to  know  how  to  decorate  a  plate,  but  how  to 
prepare  the  food  that  is  to  grace  it.  Elegant  service,  with  beautiful 
and  appropriate  designs,  are  pleasing  to  look  upon  but  will  not  sat- 
isfy the  cravings  of  a  hungry  man  one  iota,  or  make  a  miserably 
cooked  dinner  one  particle  better.  Muddy  coffee  will  not  taste  any- 
better  in  gold  cups. 

A  good  English  education  and  the  knowledge  of  domestic  econ- 
omy, will  add  more  to  a  young  man's  happiness  than  all  the  foreign 
languages  or  polite  accomplishments  that  it  is  possible  for  any  one 
young  lady  to  be  the  master  of.  If  a  young  lady's  conversational 
powers  are  limited  to  a  few  stereotyped  phrases,  as  "  awful  mean," 
"horrid,"  "ugly,"  &c.,  a  little  schooling  would  add  to  her  ability  to 
use  more  elegant  language.  We  have  heard  some  very  coarse  ex- 
pressions from  ladies  occupying  costly  mansions,  living  in  good 
style.  Such  people  purchase  their  libraries  by  the  square  yard,  and 
estimate  their  value  by  the  quantity  of  gilt  on  the  back  of  the  covers, 
not  by  the  contents. 

UNHAPPILY   MATED. 

We  have  said  what  we  have  on  the  dark  side  of  wedded  life  that 
each  young  man  may  realize' the  fact  that  it  is  all  a  lottery  if  he 
should  marry  on  an  evening's  acquaintance.  We  know  of  a  case 


140  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

where  a  young  man  courted  and  married  a  young  lady  without  let- 
ting any  of  his  friends  know  of  his  intentions  to  many.  He  thought 
he  was  doing  a  shrewd  thing.  He  found  that  he  had  not  done  so  well 
when  in  two  weeks  after  they  were  marru-d  he  had  to  carry  his  wife 
to  an  insane  asylum.  He  had  married  into  a  family  where  insanity 
was  hereditary.  He  must  either  live  with  an  insane  wife  or  support 
her  at  the  asylum. 

We  know  of  two  persons  in  Vermont  who  were  married  at  an 
evening  party  because  a  justice  offered  to  marry  any  couple  without 
pay  who  would  "stand  up"  then  and  there.  Two  fools  "stood  up" 
and  were  married.  The  longer  they  lived  together,  the  greater  be- 
came  their  disgust  over  their  foolishness.  It  proved  to  be  a  miser- 
able union. 

In  Massachusetts,  in  1878,  there  were  six  hundred  divorces,  or  one 
in  every  twenty -one  marriages;  Vermont  had  one  to  every  fourteen; 
Rhode  Island  one  to  every  eleven;  Connecticut  one  to  seventeen. 
The  figures  are  for  legal  divorces  obtained,  while  the  number  of 
thoselcoupleswho  were  self-divorced,  or  who  lived  a  cat  and  dog  life, 
would  reduce  the  number  of  happy  marriages  to  less  than  sixty  to  the 
one  hundred.  If  we  could  have  correct  data  to  refer  to  we  presume 
we  should  find  that  the  great  majority  entered  into  the  marriage  re- 
lation with  little  or  no  real  personal  acquaintance.  The  sixty  thou- 
sand surplus  females  over  the  males  in  Massachusetts,  may  have  had 
considerable  to  do  with  hasty  marriages,  and  the  equally  hasty  di- 
vorces in  that  State. 

Any  young  man  who  is  not  willing  to  consult  with  his  mother  or 
sister  upon  so  important  a  matter,  will  stand  a  good  chance  of 
making  an  unfortunate  alliance.  Your  mother  or  sister  is  better 
qualified  to  judge  of  a  young  lady's  capabilities,  and  whether  she 
has  those  traits  of  character  and  habits  that  would  most  likely  con- 
duce to  a  happy  union,  more  intelligently  than  it  would  be  possible 
for  you  to  know  any  young  woman.  If  you  refuse  all  advice  you 
cannot  expect  to  receive  any  sympathy  should  you  make  an  un- 
fortunate alliance. 

The  best  way  for  every  young  man  is  to  go  slow  and  consider  well 
each  move  he  makes  towards  a  union  for  life.  There  have  been 
and  are  to-day  some  remarkable  instances  of  that  perfect  unity, 
stronger  than  death. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  141 

SOME   OP  THE   EVIDENCES   OF  CONJUGAL  FELICITY. 

The  best  way  to  judge  of  the  happiness  that  has  existed  in  a  fam- 
ily when  dissolved  by  death,  is  to  see  how  the  husband  has  willed 
his  property,  or  how  a  wife  has  disposed  of  hers.  It  is  an  unerring 
guide.  As  for  instance:  The  husband  dies,  willing  all  his  property 
to  his  wife,  making  her  the  sole  executrix  of  his  estate  without  bonds. 
Another  leaves  a  small  pittance  to  be  doled  out  to  his  wife  so  long 
as  she  remains  "his  widow,"  but  in  the  event  of  marriage  she  is."  cut 
off "  from  any  further  support.  We  know  a  gentleman  who  was  not 
possessed  of  this  world's  goods,  but  his  wife  had  a  competence. 
She  died,  not  leaving  him  a  cent. 

We  know  of  a  gentleman  who  married  a -young  lady,  and  he  died, 
leaving  all  his  wealth  to  her,  and  not  a  child  to  care  for.  It  was  a 
fortune,  one  she  could  not  well  spend  during  the  remainder  of  her 
life,  yet  she  has  not  found  time  to  have  a  suitable  monument  placed 
over  his  grave.  She  has  had  time  to  visit  Europe  several  times, 
spending  two  or  three  years  abroad.  She  is,  no  doubt,  waiting  for  a 
new  style  of  monument.  Powers,  Mills,  Harriet  Ilosmer,  or  Vinne 
Ream,  are  altogether  too  feeble  in  their  conceptions  of  what  is 
appropriate  for  tokens  of  buried  hopes.  She  has  had  no  time  to  care 
for  the  grave.  Nature  has  had  all  the  care.  She  has  wasted  no 
time  on  tear  drops,  or  in  its  decoration.  She  has  had  time,  however, 
to  marry  a  second  husband,  and  if  we  can  read  human  nature  we 
think  he  has  by  this  time  found  out  just  what  virtues  his  predecessor 
possessed,  and  what  would  be  a  suitable  epitaph  for  the  monument 
if  it  is  ever  erected.  lie  probably  also  has  learned  that  his  name 
would  be  a  lasting  disgrace  beside  "my  first  husband,"  who  was  a 
good  and  true  man. 

Look  at  another  example:  Mr.  C.  dies  leaving  no  child,  but  all 
his  fortune  to  his  wife.  For  ten  long  years,  every  day  in  the  year, 
ehe  visited  the  grave  of  her  husband  if  the  weather  was  suitable, 
or  her  health  would  allow  of  it.  Her  loving  hands  were  ever  busy 
beautifying  the  lot.  Costly  improvements  were  continually  being 
made.  Some  new  improvements  were  constantly  under  contempla- 
tion. 

This  restriction  by  will  of  the  widow  should  she  marry,  exhibits 
a  very  ungenerous  spirit  under  the  most  charitable  conclusion, 
and  of  the  happiness  existing  between  man  and  wife.  Contrast  it 


142  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

with  an  instance  of  this  kind :  The  wife  was  dying;  she  called  her 
husband  to  the  bedside  and  said  "Albert, you  have  been  a  good  hus- 
band to  me;  have  given  me  a  beautiful  home,  better  than  I  ever  ex- 
pected or  deserved ;  you  will  miss  me,  the  children  will  miss  me, 
and  you  will  be  lonely  when  I  am  gone.  The  children  will  need 
some  one  to  care  for  them,  and  when  the  proper  time  comes  I  want 
you  to  marry  again,  to  find  some  one  to  fill  my  place.  It  will  be 
better  for  you,  better  for  the  children.  There-  is  my  sister  Alice  or 
my  dear  friend  Laura  Adams,  either  one  will  make  you  a  good 
companion.  Promise  me  you  will  do  as  I  wish,  and  I  will  die  happy. 
If  spirits  are  allowed  to  visit  their  friends,  I  will  come  to  you  and 
be  your  guardian  angel.  Do  not  put  it  off  too  long.  When  the 
wild  flowers  blossom  over  my  grave,  and  the  time  of  the  singing  of 
birds  has  come  again,  it  will  be  long  enough  to  wait.  Kiss  me  once 
more,  you  need  not  speak,  I  know  it  will  be  well.  Good  bye." 

We  were  recently  in  the  city  of  Galveston,  Texas,  and  visted  the 
resting  place  of  the  dead.  There  are  no  graves  but  tombs  are  built 
upon  the  surface  of  the  ground.  We  stopped  in  front  of  one  of 
these  tombs,  of  fine  architectural  design,  built  of  beautiful  marble 
which  the  master  hand  of  an  artist  had  skillfully  worked  out. 
Thousands  of  dollars  had  been  expended  upon  it.  The  door  was  a 
single  slab  of  Italian  marble,  in  the  center  of  which  was  placed  a 
panel  of  glass,  exposing  the  interior  to  view  from  the  outside. 
Through  the  center  of  the  tomb  extended  a  hall  or  passage  way,  on 
either  side  of  which  were  recesses  for  the  reception  of  the  caskets 
containing  the  dead.  Suspended  from  the  centre  of  the  hallway 
hung  a  basket  filled  with  the  choicest  of  flowers.  The  rays  of  the 
sun  lighted  up  the  interior,  dispelling  all  gloom.  It  was  the  palace 
tomb  of  a  beloved  wife,  erected  by  a  sorrow-stricken  husband.  Her 
memory  was  there  cherished  by  loving  tokens  of  fresh  and  fra- 
grant flowers  daily  brought  and  placed  in  the  basket. 

We  were  acquainted  with  a  gentleman  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  buried  his  wife  some  ten  years  ago,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  be  with  him  for  an  hour  without  his  alluding  to  his  great  loss. 
He  had  been  a  man  of  active  business  habits,  and  for  years  before 
his  wife  died,  she,  if  well,  always  went  with  him  wherever  his  busi- 
ness called  him.  A  happier  couple  probably  could  not  be  found 
anywhere. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  143 

Instances  are  numerous  where  a  couple  have  lived  together  fifty 
or  sixty  years,  and  when  one  has  died  the  other  has  followed  soon 
after,  sometimes  in  a  fe\v  hours,  sometimes  in  a  day,  and  frequently 
in  less  than  a  week ;  so  closely  were  the  ties  of  affection  entwined 
around  their  hearts.  "They  were  lovely  in  their  lives,  and  in  death 
they  were  not  divided." 

Whoever  marries  for  money  may  rest  assured  it  will  not  guarantee 
a  happy  home.  A  young  lady  in  Chicago,  when  asked  by  the 
officiating  minister,  "Will  you  love,  honor,  and  obey  this  man  as 
your  husband,  and  be  to  him  a  true  wife?"  said  plainly,  "Yes,  if  he 
does  what  he  promised  me  'financially.'1''  Love  didn't  make  that  match. 
Love  does  not  require  any  bargain.  Love  ignores  all  conditions. 
•*  Confidence  cannot  dwell  where  selfishness  is  porter  at  the  gate." 

"  Wanted— a  hand  to  hold  my  own, 

As  down  life's  vale  I  glide; 
Wanted— an  arm  to  lean  upon, 
Forever  by  my  side. 

Wanted- a  firm  and  steady  foot, 

With  step  secure  and  free, 
To  take  its  straight  and  onward  pace, 

Over  life's  path  with  me. 

Wanted— a  form  erect  and  high, 

A  head  above  my  own ; 
So  much  that  I  might  walk  beneath 

It's  shadows  o'er  me  thrown. 

Wanted— an  eye  within  whose  depth 

Mine  own  might  look,  and  see 
Uprising  from  a  guileless  heart, 

O'erflown  with  love  for  me. 

Wanted— a  lip,  whose  kindest  smile 

Would  speak  for  me  alone; 
A  voice  whose  richest  melody 

Would  breathe  affection's  tone. 

Wanted— a  true,  religious  soul, 

To  pious  purposes  given, 
With  whom  my  own  might  pass  along 

The  road  that  leads  to  heaven."1 

We  believe  the  practice  is  all  wrong,  which  only  allows  a  genlle- 
man  to  make  proposals  of  marringo.  We  see  no  good  reason  why 
a  young  lady  shouldn't  have  an  equal  chance,  and  we  feel  confident 


144  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

that  there  would  be  no  greater  number  of  unfortunate  marriages 
than  there  is  now,  but  the  reverse.    We  believe  it  to  be  a  noble  im- 
pulse of  a  noble  soul  to  seek  for  a  lovable  companion. 
And  what  doth  express  true  love  better  than  the  following: 
"  For  whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go ;  and  where  thou  lodgest,  I  will 
lodge;  thy  people  shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  G»K!  my  God;  where 
thou  dicst  will  I  die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried;  the  Lord  do  so  to 
me,  and  more  also,  if  aught  but  death  part  thee  and  me." 

If  the  Arab  tradition  be  true,  a  person  living  single  is  only  one- 
half  of  a  complete  being,  and  such  persons  cannot  enjoy  more  than 
one-half  of  what  there  is  to  enjoy  in  a  happy  union.  If  to  live  sin- 
gle  is  for  the  best  good  of  a  man,  why  was  Eve  created  for  a  com- 
panion to  Adam?  To  live  single,  voluntarily,  is  to  question  the 
edict  of  the  Almighty,  when  He  said,  "It  is  not  good  that  man 
Bould  be  alone." 

NEWLY-MARRIED  COUPLES. 

Of  newly  married  couples  the  Golden  Age  has  this  to  say: 

"  It  is  the  happiest,  most  virtuous  state  of  society  in  which  the 
husband  and  wife  set  out  together,  and  with  perfect  sympathy  of 
soul,  graduate  all  their  expenses,  plans,  calculations  and  desires  with 
reference  to  their  present  means  and  to  their  future  and  common 
interests. 

"Nothing  delights  man  more  than  to  enter  the  neat  little  tenement 
of  the  young  people,  who  within  perhaps  two  or  three  years,  without 
any  resources  but  their  own  knowledge  of  industry,  joined  heart  and 
hand,  and  engage  to  share  together  the  responsibilities,  duties,  in- 
terests, trials  and  pleasures  of  life.  The  industrious  wife  is  cheer- 
fully employing  her  hands  in  domestic  duties,  putting  her  house  in 
order,  or  mending  her  husband's  clothes,  or  preparing  the  dinner, 
while  perhaps  the  little  darling  sits  prattling  on  the  floor  or  lies 
Bleeping  in  the  cradle,  and  everything  seems  preparing  to  welcome 
the  happiest  of  husbands  and  the  best  of  fathers  when  he  shall  come 
home  from  his  toil  to  enjoy  the  sweets  of  his  little  paradise. 

"This  is  the  true  domestic  pleasure.  Health,  contentment,  love, 
abundance,  and  bright  prospects  are  all  here.  But  it  has  become  a 
prevalent  sentiment  that  a  man  must  acquire  his  fortune  before  he 


KENT'8  NEW  COMMENTARY.  145 

marries,  that  the  wife  must  have  no  sympathy  nor  share  with  him 
in  the  pursuit  of  it — in  which  most  of  the  pleasure  truly  consists— 
and  the  young  married  people  must  set  out  with  as  large  and  expen- 
sive an  establishment  as  is  becoming  those  who  have  been  wedded 
for  twenty  years.  This  is  very  unhappy;  it  fills  the  community 
with  bachelors,  who  are  waiting  to  make  their  fortunes,  endangering 
virtue,  promoting  vice ;  destroys  the  true  economy  and  design  of  the 
domestic  institution,  and  it  promotes  inefficiency  among  females, 
who  are  expecting  to  be  taken  up  by  fortunes  and  passively  sustained 
without  any  care  or  concern  on  their  part,  and  thus  many  a  wife  be- 
comes, as  a  gentleman  once  remarked,  not  a  'helpmeet,'  but  a 
'  help-eat.' " 

"IN   YE   OLDEN   TIME." 

The  early  settlers  of  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  denied  the  right 
of  any  man  to  live  alone,  even  if  he  chose  to  do  so.  Old  bachelors 
couldn't  do  as  they  pleased  then  in  Haverhill,  and  the  court  went  for 
them  roughly.  Here  is  the  record :  "  This  court  being  informed  that 
John  Littlehale  livest  alone,  in  a  house  by  himself,  contrary  to  the 
law  of  the  country,  whereby  he  is  subject  to  much  sin,  etc."  So 
John  was  allowed  six  weeks  to  remove  to  "  some  orderly  family," 
but  John  was  an  incorrigible  old  bachelor,  and  wouldn't  give  up  his 
way  of  living  in  single  blessedness  until  FORTY-FOUR  YEARS  after- 
wards, when  he  married,  and  then  probably  found  out  how  big  a  fool 
he  had  persistently  been  for  forty-four  years  at  least.  But  they  did 
worse  than  that  to  old  maids — they  hung  some  of  them  for  witches. 

Ministers  in  those  days  were  not  so  prostrated  with  their  church 
services  as  a  presiding  elder  of  the  African  M.  E.  church  in  Georgia 
was  recently,  when  at  the  close  of  a  quarterly  meeting,  a  couple 
presented  themselves  for  marriage,  when  he  said  to  them  to  "  Go 
away  and  wait  until  I  come  again,  I  am  too  tired  to  marry  you  now" 
No  doubt  he  felt  weaker  than  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  said  he  should 
be,  when  he  answered  a  lecture  committee  thus :  "  The  state  of  my 
health  is  such  that  if  I  should  deliver  my  lecture  before  your  ly- 
ceum,  I  should  be  so  weak  when  I  got  through,  that  if  you  should 
tender  me  a  fifty  dollar  bank  note,  I  wouldn't  have  strength  enough 
left  to  refuse  it." 

Perhaps  we  have  over-drawn  the  picture  a  little  and  made  it  too 
10 


146  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

somber ;  yet  no  doubt  after  all  we  have  said,  some  young  man  will 
not  heed  our  suggestions,  and  rush  recklessly  into  the  bands  of  mat- 
rimony! "A  prudent  man  foreseeth  the  evil  and  hideth  himself, 
but  the  simple  pass  on  and  are  punished." 

Every  home  is  not  destitute  of  happiness.  There  are  hundreds, 
thousands,  of  happy,  very  happy  homes,  where  love  reigns  supreme. 
It  does  not  require  a  stately  mansion,  elegant  furniture,  plenty  of 
servants,  horses  and  carriages  and  magnificent  leisure  to  make  a 
happy  home. 

THERE   IS   NOTHING   TOO   GOOD  FOB   MAN. 

"  I  never  saw  a  garment  too  fine  for  man  or  maid ;  there  never  was 
a  chair  too  good  for  a  cobbler  or  a  cooper  or  a  King  to  sit  in ;  never 
a  house  too  fine  to  shelter  the  human  head.  These  elements  about 
us,  the  glorious  sky,  the  imperial  sun,  are  not  too  good  for  the  hu- 
man race.  Elegance  fits  man.  But  do  we  not  value  these  tools  for 
housekeeping  a  little  more  than  they  are  worth,  and  sometimes 
mortgage  a  house  for  the  mahogany  we  bring  into  it  ?  I  had  rather 
eat  my  dinner  off  the  head  of  a  barrel,  or  dress  after  the  fashion  of 
John  the  Baptist  in  the  wilderness,  or  sit  on  a  block  all  my  life, 
than  consume  all  myself  before  I  got  to  a  home,  and  take  so  much 
pains  with  the  outside  that  the  inside  was  as  hollow  as  an  empty  nut. 
Beauty  is  a  great  thing,  but  beauty  of  garment,  house  and  furniture 
are  tawdry  ornaments  compared  with  domestic  love.  All  the  ele- 
gance in  the  world  will  not  make  a  home,  and  I  would  give  more 
for  a  spoonful  of  real  hearty  love  than  for  whole  ship-loads  of  fur- 
niture, and  all  the  gorgeousness  all  the  upholsterers  in  the  world 
can  gather." — Dr.  Holmes. 

"  Nothing  is  sweeter  than  Love,  nothing  more  courageous,  noth- 
ing higher,  nothing  wider,  nothing  more  pleasant,  nothing  fuller 
nor  better  in  heaven  and  earth ;  because  Love  is  born  of  God,  and 
cannot  rest  but  in  God,  above  all  created  things." — Thos.  A'Kempis. 

"  Blest  be  LOVE,  to  whom  we  owe 
All  that's  bright  and  fair  below; 
Song  was  cold  and  painting  dim, 
Till  song  and  painting  learned  from  him." 

—  Thomas  Moore. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  147 

"Ah,  well!  for  us  all  some  sweet  hope  lies 
Deeply  buried  from  human  eyes ; 

And,  in  the  hereafter,  angels  may 
Roll  the  stone  from  its  grave  away." 

—  Whlttier^  "Maud  Muller." 

;t  By  your  truth  she  shall  be  true, 
Ever  true,  as  wives  of  yore; 
And  her  yes,  once  said  to  yon, 
Shall  be  YES  forevermore."  —Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning. 


A   SONG  FOR   THE   "HEARTH   AND   HOME." 

"  Dark  is  the  night,  and  fitful  and  drearily 

Rushes  the  wind  like  the  waves  of  the  sea ; 
Little  care  I,  as  here  I  sit  cheerily, 

Wife  at  my  side  and  my  baby  on  knee. 
King!  king!  crown  me  the  king! 
Home  is  the  kingdom  and  Love  is  the  king ! 

"Flashes  the  firelight  upon  the  dear  faces, 

Dearer  and  dearer  and  onward  we  go, 
Forces  the  shadows  behind  us,  and  places 

Brightness  around  us  with  warmth  in  the  glow. 
King!  king!  crown  me  the  king! 
Home  is  the  kingdom,  and  Love  is  the  king. 

"  Flashes  the  lovelight,  increasing  the  glory, 

Beaming  from  bright  eyes  with  warmth  of  the  soul, 

Telling  of  trust  and  content  the  sweet  story, 
Fighting  the  shadows  that  over  us  roll. 

King!  king!  crown  me  the  king! 
Home  is  the  kingdom  and  Love  is  the  king. 

"  Richer  than  miser  with  perishing  treasure, 

Served  with  a  service  no  conquest  could  bring; 
Happy  with  fortune  that  words  cannot  measure, 

Light  hearted  I  on  the  hearthstone  can  sing. 
King!  king!  crown  me  the  king! 
Home  is  the  kingdom,  and  love  is  the  king.1' 

—Rev.  William  Rankin  Duryea. 


ACTION !     ACTION ! !     ACTION ! ! ! 

It  is  action  that  wins.  Action  is  everything.  People  dying  of 
ennui  never  accomplish  anything,  but  block  up  the  way  of  others 
who  are  trying  to  strike  out  for  themselves.  We  are  sick,  heart- 
sick of  that  class  who  hang  around  and  grunt,  and  whine,  and  do 
nothing  for  themselves,  or  anybody  else. 

The  spirit  that  nerves  one  up  to  do  his  best,  in  whatever  place  or 
avocation  he  is  engaged,  is  worthy  of  the  highest  praise.  To  excel, 
to  do  a  little  better  to  day  than  yesterday,  to  do  a  little  better  than 
a  companion  is  doing,  is  commendable.  Hitting  the  mark  counts 
one  ahead.  The  leap  that  carries  you  an  inch  beyond  your  com- 
petitor, is  a  mark  in  your  favor.  Ambition  to  do  good,  to  develop 
one's  talents  to  their  utmost  capacity,  is  praiseworthy.  Ambition, 
controlled  by  right  motives,  never  harms  any  one.  Linked  to  pat- 
riotism it  makes  heroes  and  martyrs.  What  a  noble  example  in 
Admiral  Farragut  at  the  battle  of  Mobile  Bay,  when  he  ascended 
the  rigging,  and  was  firmly  lashed  to  the  mast,  there  to  remain  until 
the  battle  was  lost  or  won.  What  courage  it  must  have  inspired  in 
his  men  on  deck  to  see  their  commander  above  them  exposed  to  the 
sharp-shooters  of  the  enemy,  with  no  possible  chance  to  shield  him- 
self, or  escape.  He  was  there  to  direct  the  battle  and  face  the  deadly 
fire  of  the  enemy.  If  his  vessel  went  down,  he  went  down  with  it. 

"A  sacred  burden  is  the  life  ye  bear, 
Look  on  it,  lift  it,  bear  it  solemnly, 
Stand  up  and  walk  beneath  it  steadfastly. 
Fail  not  for  sorrow,  falter  not  for  sin, 
But  onward,  upward,  till  the  goal  ye  win." 

-  Frances  Anne  Kemble. 

TALENT  AND  AMBITION. 

No  amount  of  practice  will  develop  talent  where  there  is  no  am- 
bition to  excel.  Where  every  luxury  that  money  will  buy  is  en- 
joyed, even  to  the  fullest  capacity;  where  the  daily  life  is  but  a 
round  of  indulgences  that  weaken  the  constitution,  and  deaden  the 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  149 

intellectual  faculties,  there  is  not  the  least  inclination  to  study  a 
branch  that  requires  labor  to  achieve  success. 

Political  ambition  is  not  worthy  of  consideration  for  a  moment. 
It  is  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  any  young  man.  If  he 
allows  himself  to  be  drawn  into  the  political  arena,  it  will  be  one 
of  the  worst  moves  he  ever  made.  It  will  be  at  the  sacrifice  of  all 
his  principles  of  honor  and  integrity.  It  is  next  to  an  impossibility 
for  the  best  and  the  most  conscientious  man  living  to  make  politics 
his  chief  ambition  and  study,  without  his  reputation  becoming  tar- 
nished. Office-seeking  is  fraught  with  many  perils.  There  are  too 
few  offices,  and  too  many  who  want  to  fill  them ;  all  cannot  be  sat- 
isfied. The  sad  examples  of  those  who  have  tried,  only  to  fail  in 
the  end,  and  have  gone  down  to  their  graves  before  their  time, 
wrecks  of  their  former  greatness,  ought  to  be  sufficient  warning 
to  all. 

John  C.  Calhoun  came  the  nearest  of  any  man  living  or  dead,  of 
reaching  the  highest  pinnacle  of  his  ambition,  and  only  to  miss  it 
by  a  step.  When  Calhoun  graduated  from  Yale  College,  he  said: 
"Now  for  the  Presidency!"  And  he  concentrated  his  entire  ener- 
gies to  accomplish  his  purpose,  to  gain  the  coveted  place.  He  came 
as  near  the  door  as  any  man  could,  and  not  pass  over  its  threshold, 
being  elected  Vice  President  on  the  ticket  with  Andrew  Jackson. 
Webster,  Clay,  Everett,  Seward,  Chase,  Douglass  and  Greeley,  all 
wanted  to  be  President,  They  all  failed.  All  spent  their  last  days 
in  sorrow  over  disappointed  ambition.  They  had  worked  and  toiled 
hard  for  years  to  accomplish  a  purpose  only  to  fail,  and  to  die  with 
an  ambition  unsatisfied. 

POLITICAL   HONORS   UNSATISFYING. 

Men  who  are  ambitious  for  political  preferment,  are  seldom  sat. 
isfied  with  the  honors  secured.  If  the  highest  places  are  reached, 
the  fruits  are  unsatisfying  and  delusive ;  the  honors  of  doubtful  sub- 
stantiality. Even  the  President  of  the  United  States  at  the  end  of 
four  years,  or  eight  years  at  the  farthest,  must  relinquish  the  power 
and  honor  placed  in  his  hands,  and  step  down  "and  become  one  of 
the  common  people,  perhaps  to  be  neglected  and  forgotten. 

"One  self-approving  hour  whole  years  outweighs 
Of  stupid  starers  and  of  loud  huzzas.""  -  Pope. 


EXAMPLES  OF  HEROISM. 

NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE. 

The  Vendorne  Column  of  Paris  was  erected  by  the  French  gov- 
ernment in  honor  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  Twelve  hundred  can- 
non, captured  from  the  Austrians,  were  melted  down  to  form  a 
spiral  relief  which  wreathed  the  column  from  top  to  bottom,  por- 
traying the  scenes,  and  giving  the  names,  of  the  great  battles  won 
by  the  Emperor.  Upon  its  top  was  placed  a  statue  of  Napoleon  in 
Roman  costume.  Many  times  since  its  first  erection,  has  the  statue 
been  thrown  down,  and  as  often  replaced,  until  in  1875  the  column 
was  blown  into  fragments  by  the  French  people,  who  had  learned 
to  look  upon  it  with  derision.  Time  had  wrought  such  changes  in 
the  hearts  of  the  French  that  they  could  no  longer  look  with  com- 
placency upon  a  monument  erected  to  commemorate  the  name  and 
fame  of  a  despot,  whose  boundless  ambition  trampled  upon  human 
rights  without  mercy,  and  lowered  in  the  dust  the  high  and  the  low 
of  whatever  creed  or  nationality,  that  stood  in  the  way  of  his  indi- 
vidual advancement.  The  tieartlessness  of  this  man  seems  incred- 
ible. That  he  should  cruelly  drive  from  him  his  beautiful  and 
accomplished  wife,  Josephine,  as  lovely  a  woman  as  ever  graced  the 
palace  halls  of  the  Tuilleries,  is  something  beyond  our  comprehen- 
sion. No  language  seems  adequate  to  express  condemnation  for 
such  an  act.  Yet  his  life  was  but  a  repetition  of  similar  deeds  of 
cruelty.  Who  but  a  Napoleon  could  have  condemned  to  death  a 
soldier  who  finished  and  sealed  a  letter  to  his  wife  after  the  time  at 
night  when  lights  were  ordered  to  be  extinguished,  and  who,  when 
detected  was  compelled  to  break  the  seal,  and  to  insert  these  words 
as  a  postscript:  "I  die  to-morrow  morning  at  sunrise,  for  disobe- 
dience, of  orders."  Such  men,  we  are  thankful,  are  rare  in  these 
days;  yet  Napoleon's  inordinate  ambition,  which  impelled  him  to 
exercise  such  inhumanity,  has  its  counterpart  in  every  age ;  and 
even  in  our  own  times  men  equally  ambitious,  and  equally  ready  to 
level  all  before  them  to  subserve  their  own  selfish  purposes,  may  be 
found  in  every  community. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  151 

We  insert  the  following  stanzas  from  Byron's  poem  on  "  Napo- 
leon," which  most  graphically  portrays  the  life  and  character  of 
the  world's  greatest  tyrant,  controlled  by  an  unholy  ambition : 

"  'T  is  done,  —  but  yesterday  a  king! 

And  armed  with  kings  to  strive,— 
And  now  thou  art  a  nameless  thing; 

So  abject — yet  alive! 
Is  this  the  man  of  thousand  thrones, 
Who  strewed  our  earth  with  hostile  bones, 

And  can  he  thus  survive? 
Since  he,  miscalled  the  Morning  Star, 
Nor  man  nor  fiend  hath  fallen  so  far. 


"  And  Earth  hath  spilled  her  blood  for  him, 

Who  thus  can  hoard  his  own ! 
And  monarchs  bowed  the  trembling  limb, 

And  thanked  him  for  a  throne ! 
Fair  Freedom !  may  we  hold  thee  dear, 
When  thus  thy  mightiest  foes  their  fear 

In  humblest  guise  have  shown. 
O,  ne'er  may  tyrant  leave  behind 
A  brighter  name  to  lure  mankind! 

"  Thine  evil  deeds  are  writ  jn  gore, 

Nor  written  thus  in  vain; 
Thy  triumphs  tell  of  fame  no  more, 

Or  deepen  every  stain. 
;   If  thou  hadst  died  as  honor  dies, 
Some  new  Napoleon  might  arise, 

To  shame  the  world  again; 
But  who  would  soar  the  solar  height, 
To  set  in  such  a  starless  night? 

"  Weighed  in  the  balance,  hero  dust 

Is  vile  as  vulgar  clay; 
Thy  scales,  Mortality!  are  just 

To  all  that  pass  away : 
But  yet  methought  the  living  great 
Some  higher  spark  should  animate, 

To  dazzle  and  dismay; 

Nor  deem«d  contempt  could  thus  make  mirth 
Of  these,  the  conquerors  of  the  earth. 


152  K&NT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

FLORENCE   NIGHTINGALE. 

When  the  Crimean  war  was  in  progress,  there  was  wafted  west- 
ward across  the  continent  to  England,  a  wail  of  woe  and  of  distress, 
such  as  was  never  before  heard  by  any  civilized  people.  It  came 
from  her  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  as  they  lay  uncared  for  on  the 
battle-field.  There  were  no  hospitals,  no  hospital  supplies,  no 
nurses,  and  the  poor  soldiers  were  dying  from  sheer  and  cruel  neg 
lect,  England  was  alarmed  as  the  ranks  of  her  army  were  melting 
away  by  the  fearful  mortality  among  her  troops.  The  sad  wail,  the 
moans  of  the  sick  and  dying,  was  heard  by  a  highly  accomplished 
young  lady  at  her  home  of  luxury  and  refinement,  surrounded  with 
every  comfort  wealth  could  command,  or  loving  friends  could 
devise.  Instantly  she  responded  to  the  call  of  the  suffering,  and 
dying  soldiers  on  the  field  of  battle.  Enlisting  two  hundred  assist- 
ants, she  bade  her  happy  home  and  loving  friends  adieu,  and  with 
the  utmost  alacrity  hurried  to  the  field  of  carnage  and  death,  where 
shot  and  shell  had  done  its  cruel  work.  At  the  sight  of  the  awful 
scenes  in  that  "valley  of  death,"  she  faltered  not.  The  ghastly 
dead,  the  mangled  and  shattered  wrecks  of  the  human  form — made 
so  by  the  death-dealing  missiles  of  the  enemy,  had  no  terrors  for 
her,  when  duty  and  humanity  called.  The  terrible  suffering  of  the 
sick  and  wounded,  the  agonizing  cries  of  those  who  had  passed 
beyond  the  reach  of  human  aid,  brought  to  her  view  scenes  never 
to  be  forgotten.  The  sickening  stench  of  decomposing  bodies,  only 
added  to  the  horrors  of  the  situation.  It  was  enough  to  appal  the 
stoutest  heart,  and  to  destroy  nerves  of  iron.  She  went  among  the 
dead  to  find  the  living;  kneeling  down  amid  corpses,  to  minister  to 
some  poor  soldier  who  had  fallen  beside  them,  with  all  the  tender- 
ness or  a  mother's  love,  or  a  sister's  devotion.  The  rough  dragoon, 
or  the  young  drummer-boy,  some  mother's  darling,  received  alike 
her  utmost  care  and  attention. 

Hundreds,  thousands,  lived  to  bless  the  name  of  Florence  Night- 
ingale. No  monument  is  needed  to  immortalize  her  name.  Her 
memory  will  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  long  after  the  name 
of  Napoleon  shall  have  been  forgotten.  Her  labors  were  not  passed 
by  unrewarded.  A  gift  of  fifty  thousand  pounds  was  made  to  her 
as  a  slight  testimonial  of  her  invaluable  services.  But  her  last 
noble  act  was  the  crowning  glory  of  a  beautiful  life :  she  donated 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  153 

the  entire  sum  given  her  to  the  founding  of  an  institution  for  the 
education  and  training  of  nurses.  She  still  lives,  an  invalid.  She 
sacrificed  every  comfort,  a  delightful  home  and  its  enjoyments,  her 
health  and  all  the  pleasures  of  life,  that  others  might  live,  rescued 
from  the  very  jaws  of  death  on  the  battle  fields  of  Inkeruiann  and 
Balaklava.  Look  at  her  life-work,  and  compare  it  with  Napoleon's. 
Which  of  the  two  was  the  nobler? 


EVERY -DAY   HEROES. 

A  steamer  on  Lake  Michigan,  crowded  with  passengers,  caught 
fire  and  while  every  effort  was  being  made  to  extinguish  the  flames, 
the  captain  ordered  the  pilot  to  head  for  land,  and  to  "  hold  fast  to 
the  helm."  The  fire  was  soon  past  all  control.  The  passengers  were 
terrified  as  the  fire  was  consuming  all  before  it,  and  driving  them 
into  closer  quarters.  The  only  hope  for  them  was  in  the  pilot  being 
able  to  remain  at  his  post,  and  the  engines  to  continue  to  work  until 
land  was  reached.  Flame  and  smoke  enveloped  the  pilot  house, 
hiding  the  pilot  from  view.  Every  few  moments  the  captain  would 
call  out  to  the  pilot,  "John,  are  you  there ?"  Every  time  came  back 
the  response,  "  Aye,  aye,  sir."  The  wildest  excitement  pervaded  the 
passengers.  The  intense  heat  was  narrowing  down  their  chances  of 
reaching  land,  and  thereby  escaping  a  terrible  death  by  fire  or 
water.  Again  the  captain  called  to  the  pilot  to  know  if  he  was 
there,  and  "aye,  aye,  sir,"  was  heard  above  the  roar  of  the  flames. 
The  captain  asks,  "can  you  hold  on  five  minutes  longer?"  The 
answer  came  back,  "  By  the  help  of  God,  I  will  try,  sir."  As  the 
last  passenger  took  the  gang  plank  and  was  safely  on  shore,  the 
heroic  spirit  of  John  Maynard  went  heavenward. 

A  watchman  oh  a  drawbridge  knew  that  the  express  train  was 
coming  around  the  curve,  just  as  his  little  boy  had  fallen  from  his 
side  into  the  boiling  current  below.  To  save  his  child,  or  the  train 
and  its  living  freight,  were  the  questions  presented  to  him  for  imme- 
diate, decision.  The  boy  was  struggling  in  the  water,  and  calling 
to  his  father  for  help ;  a  moment  more  and  the  on-coming  train  will 
be  thrown  into  the  river,  if  the  bridge  is  not  closed.  The  watch- 
man swings  the  bolts  that  move  the  draw,  the  train  with  its  hun- 
dreds of  passengers  rushes  on  just  as  it  closes,  and  is  saved.  The 


154  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

father  looks  for  his  boy,  but  he  is  gone,  a  sacrifice  to  duty.    What 
more  sublime  instance  of  true  heroism  than  this,  can  be  found  ? 

In  a  village  upon  one  side  of  the  Alps  lived  a  little  crippled  boy, 
by  the  name  of  Fritz.  One  day  the  villagers  went  out  from  their 
homes  for  a  picnic.  Fritz  was  too  lame  to  go,  and  therefore  he 
alone  of  all  the  villagers  remained  at  home.  When  the  picnicers 
were  in  the  height  of  their  enjoyment,  it  was  discovered  that  a 
"  signal  fire"  had  been  lighted  above  their  village,  which  was  the 
usual  signal  that  an  enemy  was  approaching.  The  villagers  has- 
tened back  to  the  village  just  in  time  to  save  their  homes  from  des- 
poliation. The  mystery  to  them  was,  who  could  have  "  fired  the 
pile."  Fritz  was  missing  from  his  home.  The  people  searched 
everywhere  for  him,  and  at  last  he  was  discovered  near  the  burning 
pile,  dead ;  killed  by  the  invading  horde,  in  revenge  for  having 
discovered  their  approach,  and  given  the  alarm.  On  his  hands  and 
knees  he  had  crawled  up  the  mountain  side  and  lighted  the  signal 
fire.  Was  not  he  a  greater  hero  than  Napoleon  Bonaparte  ? 


WHAT  SHALL  I  LITE  FOR? 

Many  of  our  readers  may  ask,  "What  shall  I  live  for?"  We 
cannot  answer  this,  the  most  important  of  all  questions,  better  than 
by  inserting  the  following  lines : 

"  WHAT   I   LIVE   FOR. 

"  I  live  for  those  who  love  me, 

For  those  I  know  are  true, 
For  the  heaven  that  smiles  above  me 

And  awaits  my  spirit  too; 
For  all  human  ties  that  bind  me, 
For  the  task  my  God  assigned  me, 
For  the  bright  hopes  left  behind  me, 

And  the  good  that  I  can  do. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 


155 


'I  live  to  learn  their  story, 
Who've  suffered  for  my  sake, 

To  emulate  their  glory, 
And  follow  in  their  wake : 

Bards,  martyrs,  patriots,  sages, 

The  noble  of  all  ages, 

Whose  deeds  crown  history's  pages, 
And  times  great  volume  make. 

'  I  live  to  hail  that  season 

By  gifted  minds  foretold, 
When  men  shall  live  by  reason, 

And  not  alone  for  gold; 
When  man  to  man  united, 
And  every  wrong  thing  righted, 
The  whole  world  shall  be  lighted 

As  Eden  was  of  old. 

I  live  to  hold  communion 

With  all  that  is  divine, 
To  feel  that  there  is  union 

Twixt  Nature's  heart  and  mine, 
To  profit  by  affliction, 
Reap  truth  from  fields  of  fiction, 
Grow  wiser  from  conviction — 

Fulfilling  God's  design. 

"  I  live  for  those  that  love  me, 

For  those  that  know  me  true, 
For  the  heaven  that  smiles  above  me, 

And  waits  my  spirit,  too; 
For  the  wrongs  that  need  resistance 
For  the  cause  that  needs  assistance, 
For  the  future  in  the  distance, 
And  the  good  that  I  can  do." 


Dr.  Murray,  "Kerwan,"  writes  of  visiting  an  old  man  of  ninety 
years  who  said  to  him,  "  Do  all  the  good  you  can,  to  all  the  people 
you  can,  in  all  the  ways  you  can,  and  as  long  as  you  can." 


THE  DELUSIONS  OF  THE  AGE. 


THE  "MIRAGE." 

We  were  once  traveling  in  a  country  where  this  fantastic  delusion 
played  around  us  occasionally,  to  our  supreme  delight.  Indifferent 
and  obscure  objects  would  appear  along  the  horizon,  wonderfully 
transformed.  Scrubby  brush  a  foot  or  two  high  loomed  up  like  a 
forest  of  tall  timber.  Grass  of  less  than  six  inches  would  be  elon- 
gated to  tall  reeds,  and  would  seem  to  be  running  a  swift  race.  Soil 
that  was  red  would  present  all  the  appearance  of  a  raging,  flaming 
fire.  Men  and  animals  would  pass  through  wonderful  transforma- 
tions, assuming  many  curious  and  comical  shapes. 

The  water  illusion  to  the  poor,  weary,  thirsty,  perishing  traveler, 
is  terrible — awful  to  think  of — the  climax  of  human  suffering.  For 
days  he  has  been  anxiously  seeking  for  water,  and  all  at  once  before 
his  eager  eyes  appears  beautiful  lakelets,  studded  with  islands,  with 
fine  shade  trees  gracing  the  shores.  Excitedly  he  exclaims,  "  Water ! 
Water !  it  is  found  at  last."  The  cherished  boon  is  just  before  him ; 
ten  minutes  walk  and  his  raging  thirst  will  be  quenched.  He 
bounds  forward  with  new  vigor,  but  soon  discovers  that  the  lake 
that  appeared  so  near  remains  just  as  far  away.  He  stops  and  looks 
again  and  again,  and  says :  "  Surely  there  is  water;  it  is  a  flowing 
river."  He  sees  the  waves  rise  and  fall  as  gentle  zephyrs  play  over 
them,  sparkling  in  the  sunlight.  He  almost  thinks  he  hears  the 
rippling  waves  as  they  lave  the  nearer  shore.  On  he  goes  with 
increasing  speed,  if  it  were  possible,  that  the  sooner  his  burning, 
maddening  thirst  may  be  assuaged.  He  goes  on ;  so  does  the  phan- 
tom. In  the  burning  heat  of  midday  he  falters,  gasps  for  breath ; 
his  tongue  is  parched,  swollen,  and  ceases  to  articulate.  Reason 
trembles  in  the  balance;  his  eyes  are  fixed,  and  with  fingers  point- 
ing to  the  illusion,  to  him  so  real,  he  lies  down  to  die.  On  the 
margin  of  that  other  river,  to  him  unseen,  his  weary,  weary  feet 
halted. 


RENTS  NEW  COMMENTARY.  157 

THIRST. 

No  word  in  our  language,  perhaps,  carries  with  it  greater  weight 
than  the  word  thirst.  It  is  one  of  the  words  the  meaning  of  which 
changes  not,  It  is  used  to  express  all  human  wants,  whether  of 
body,  mind  or  soul — intensified  in  the  superlative  degree. 

There  is  no  physical  suffering  more  terrible  to  endure,  or  a  death 
more  awful  to  die  than  that  of  the  burning  thirst  for  water.  Sailors 
shipwrecked  upon  the  open  sea  know  its  horrors.  Vambrey,  in  his 
travels  in  Central  Asia,  describes  most  graphically  the  scenes  he 
witnessed  there.  He  says :  "  Two  of  our  companions  having  ex- 
hausted all  their  water,  fell  so  sick  that  we  were  forced  to  bind 
them  at  full  length  upon  the  camels,  as  they  were  perfectly  inca- 
pable of  riding  or  sitting.  We  covered  them,  and  as  long  as  they 
were  able  to  articulate,  they  kept  exclaiming:  'Water  !  Water!' 
the  only  words  that  escaped  their  lips.  Alas!  even  their  best 
friends  denied  them  the  life  dispensing  draught.  On  the  fourth 
day  one  of  them  was  freed  by  death  from  the  dreadful  torments  of 
thirst.  It  was  a  horrible  sight  to  see  the  father  hide  his  store  of 
water  from  the  son,  and  brother  from  brother;  each  drop  is  life; 
and  when  men  feel  the  torture  of  thirst  there  is  not,  as  in  the  dan- 
gers of  life,  any  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  or  any  feeling  of  generosity." 

The  word  thirst  is  very  frequently  used  figuratively  when  speak- 
ing of  an  intense  desire,  or  craving  for  any  special  object.  Thus 
we  say,  "He  thirsts  for  revenge;"  "thirsts  after  happiness;"  "he 
seeks  his  keeper's  flesh  and  thirsts  his  blood."  One  of  the  ineffable 
joys  of  heaven  is  portrayed,  by  the  statement  that,  "They  shall 
never  hunger  nor  thirst."  That  is  to  say,  that  every  longing  shall 
be  satisfied.  Earth  affords  no  such  boon. 

The  world  is  full  of  thirsty  people — thirsting  for  something  they 
do  not  possess,  a  craving  for  something  beyond  their  grasp.  The 
mirage  holds  out  the  most  tantalizing  appearances  to  the  poor  trav- 
eler dying  of  thirst.  It  allures  him  along  only  to  mock  him  at  last 
in  the  death  throes.  Some  persons  are  permitted  to  reach  the  foun- 
tain they  sought  to  reach,  to  drink  deep  thereof,  to  find  at  last  it 
is  a  bitter  fountain.  No  man  who  has  had  a  burning  thirst  for 
gold,  or  for  wealth,  and  who  has  exceeded  his  first  mark — was  ever 
satisfied  with  it.  The  same  burning  thirst,  intensified,  calls  for 


158  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

more  continually,  and  will  not  be  satisfied.  The  pleasures  of  life 
afford  no  fountain  at  which  its  votaries  can  satiate  their  thirst. 
The  man  of  ambition,  "  fired  up"  to  "  white  heat,"  finds  no  cool 
refreshing  stream  where  he  may  quench  the  "  fire  within."  The 
political  aspirants,  thirsting  for  office,  even  if  they  obtain  the  office 
sought,  are  unable  to  slake  their  thirst  in  the  enjoyment  of  its  honors. 
When  they  reach  the  first  round  of  their  aspirations  they  discover  a 
round  higher,  and  so  they  thirst  for  that  one,  and  are  never  satisfied. 

THIRSTING  FOR   FAME. 

Dr.  X.,  after  having  accumulated  a  princely  fortune,  thirsted  for 
the  honors  of  the  world.  He  sought  to  have  his  name  immortalized 
by  having  towns  and  cities  bear  his  name.  He  gave  a  large  sum  of 
money  to  a  village  corporation  to  induce  its  citizens  to  drop  the 
original  name,  and  to  take  his  name  instead.  He  thirsted  for  polit- 
ical honors.  He  aspired  to  have  "  Hon."  in  front,  or  "M.  C."  at  the 
end  of  his  name.  He  labored  assiduously  and  spent  his  money 
lavishly  to  get  the  nomination  for  a  representative  to  Congress,  but, 
was  always  defeated.  It  was  a  great  and  sore  disappointment  to  Dr. 
X.  It  incapacitated  him  for  any  business.  His  friends  carried  him 
to  a  private  medical  institution  for  treatment.  The  shock  to  his 
system,  however,  had  been  too  great  to  yield  to  remedies.  He  lin- 
gered a  few  months  and  died — died  of  an  unquenchable  thirst:  for 
honors  that  money  could  not  purchase.  He  sought  to  drink  from 
a  fountain  that  seemed  to  him  so  near  and  inviting— just  a  little 
way  from  him.  The  delusive  mirage  danced  before  him  most  be- 
witchingly,  alluring  him  on,  and  inspiring  him  with  the  most  san- 
guine anticipations  and  expectations  to  soon  reach  that  fountain, 
and  there  to  slake  his  burning  thirst.  No,  never !  Honors  of  the 
world  never  satisfy. 

Does  wealth  satisfy?  Will  it  quench  all  thirst,  appease  all 
cravings  of  the  body,  of  mind,  and  of  soul!  No.  It  never  has; 
it  never  will.  Dr.  X.  had  wealth  in  abundance.  He  left  an 
estate  of  over  ten  millions  of  dollars.  With  his  vast  possessions,  he 
was  beyond  all  earthly  necessity — for  with  his  money  he  could 
supply  every  physical  need.  There  was  no  luxury  he  could  not 
purchase  that  could  in  any  way  conduce  to  his  best  and  fullest 
enjoyment  of  life. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  159 

THIRSTING   FOR   HONORS. 

"What's  fame? 

A  fancied  life  in  other's  breath. 
A  thing  beyond  us,  enen  before  our  death.11  — Pope. 

Horace  Greeley  was  born  in  a  humble  home,  in  poverty.  At 
sixteen  years  of  age  he  started  out  for  himself,  penniless.  For  years 
his  success  was  anything  but  encouraging.  With  indomitable 
energy  he  labored  on  until  he  became  the  editor-in-chief  of  the 
New  York  Tribune,  one  of  the  best  papers  in  the  world.  The  posi- 
tion did  not  satisfy  him  very  long.  He  longed  for  something 
beyond — to  drink  at  another  fountain.  He  set  his  affections  upon 
the  highest  office  in  the  land — the  Presidency  of  the  United  States. 
The  mirage  played  most  charmingly  before  him,  and  the  more  he 
speculated  upon  the  delusion,  the  greater  assurance  he  had  of 
its  being  what  it  seemed,  and  to  be  so  near  to  him,  that  there  was 
no  question  as  to  his  ability  to  drink  to  his  full,  of  public  favor 
The  thirst  increased  as  time  drew  near  when  the  verdict  of  the 
people  was  to  decide  who  was  to  be  the  winning  man.  It  was  a 
short  and  spirited  race.  Mr.  Greeley  concentrated  his  entire  ener- 
gies, soul  and  body,  to  win  the  race.  He  failed.  He  was  a  disap- 
pointed man.  The  presidential  mirage  proved  a  terrible  delusion 
to  him.  He  fell  into  a  stupor  soon  after  the  result  was  known,  from 
which  he  never  rallied,  and  his  death  followed  in  a  very  few  days. 

"  What  shall  I  do  lest  life  in  silence  pass?11 

And  if  it  do, 
And  never  prompt  the  bray  of  noisy  brass, 

What  need'st  thou  rue? 
Remember  aye  the  oceans  deeps  are  mute ; 

The  shallows  roar ; 

Worth  is  the  ocean,-  Fame  is  the  bruit 
Along  the  shore. 

"What  shall  I  do  to  be  forever  known?11 

Thy  duty  ever; 
"This  did  full  many  who  yet  sleep  unknown,11— 

Oh!  never,  never! 
Think'st  thou  perchance  that  they  remain  unknown 

Whom  thou  know'st  not? 

By  angel  trumps  in  heaven  their  praise  is  blown, 
Divine  their  lot. 


160  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

"  What  shall  I  do  to  gain  eternal  life?11 

Discharge  aright 
The  simple  dues  with  which   each  day  is  rife  V 

Yea,  with  thy  might. 
Ere  perfect  scheme  of  action  thou  devise, 

Will  life  be  fled, 
While  he  who  ever  acts  as  conscience  cries 

Shall  live,  though  dead.  —Schiller. 

"  There  is  no  death !    What  seems  so  is  transition. 
This  life  of  mortal  breath 
Is  but  the  suburb  of  the  life  elysian, 
Whose  portals  we  call  death."  — Longfellou'. 

Life,  as  we  call  it,  is  nothing  but  the  edge  of  the  boundless  ocean 
of  existence. — 0.  W.  Holmes. 


Every  young  man  of  ordinary  good  sense  is  anxious  to  learn  in 
advance  what  he  can,  of  his  future,  his  fortune,  and  the  happiness 
or  sorrow,  success  or  failure  that  awaits  him  before  the  problem  of 
life  shall  have  been  fully  solved.  It  is  perfectly  right  and  proper 
that  he  should  be  anxious  to  rightly  comprehend  the  ever-increas- 
ing responsibilities  as  the  years  come  and  go ;  responsibilities  that 
he  cannot  escape  or  delegate  to  any  human  being. 

There  is  a  sure  road  to  success.  Go  bravely  forward  and  fear- 
lessly meet  the  responsibilities  of  life  as  they  shall  arise,  with  the 
full  determination  to  yield  to  none.  Bear  your  own  burdens  cheer- 
fully and  with  courage.  Surmount  all  obstacles  that  are  hindrances, 
though  they  may  be  simply  blessings  in  disguise.  Aim  for  some- 
thing higher  at  each  advancing  step,  thereby  developing  increasing 
power  to  achieve  victory.  Thus  every  step  lifts  you  one  degree 
higher — higher  and  nearer  to  the  goal. 

"  So  live,  that  when  thy  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan  that  moves 
To  the  pale  realms  of  shade,  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death, 
Thou  go  not,  like  the  quarry-slave  at  night, 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon,  but,  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  thy  grave 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams."  —  Bryant. 


PART    II. 


PRACTICAL  BUSINESS  PRECEPTS. 


INTEGRITY   OF   CHARACTER. 

The  young  men  of  this  country  have  great  reason  to  feel  proud 
of  their  birth-right.  This  is  the  only  land  where  every  avenue  for 
business,  the  learned  professions,  or  public  offices  of  honor  and  trust 
are  open  alike  to  all,  rich  or  poor,  high  or  low.  We  have  here  no 
caste,  no  entailed  heirships,  no  aristocracy  to  "  lord  it  over  the  com- 
mon people."  Every  young  man  is  absolutely  free  to  select  his 
own  calling  and  compete  for  any  place  or  position  in  the  gift  of  the 
people,  even  to  the  highest  office,  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  his  inalienable  right  under  the  laws  of  the  land,  to 
choose  any  pathway  that  he  may  deem  the  most  congenial  to  hie 
happiness.  No  serfdom  can  exist  where  the  banner  of  universal 
freedom  floats  to  the  free  winds  of  heaven. 

There  are  certain  fundamental  principles  which  lie  at  the  bottom 
of  all  successful  achievements  in  any  legitimate  undertaking.  The 
very  first  thing  for  a  young  man  to  do,  is  to  decide  for  himself 
what  shall  be  his  calling ;  whether  it  shall  be  one  of  the  varied 
industries  of  the  country ;  whether  he  shall  aim  to  be  a  merchant 
prince  or  a  scholar,  or  a  man  of  science.  He  alone  must  decide  this 
question.  If  it  is  merchandizing,  one  of  the  requisites  is  capital. 
Yet  there  is  something  better  than  a  cash  capital  to  commence  busi- 
ness with, — even  as  long  as  one  continues  in  active  life,  there  is 
something  better,  and  what  every  one  must  have,  to  entitle  him 
to  be  classed  "A  1,"  and  that  is  integrity  of  character.  It  is 
better  than  a  gift  of  ten  thousand  dollars  to  any  young  man,  if 
destitute  of  that  important  requisite.  Hundreds  of  young  men  have 
11 


162  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

commenced  business  and  made  it  successful  who  had  not  a  dollar 
in  cash  to  invest  at  the  start.  They  are  able  to  secure  capital  by 
their  integrity  of  character,  which  will  always  give  them. credit, 
while  a  man  of  wealth  devoid  of  it,  cannot  secure  equal  favors.  A 
dishonest  man,  no  matter  how  large  his  bank  account  may  be,  is 
always  looked  upon  with  suspicion.  He  possesses  double  power. 
He  can  violate  all  rules  of  true  business  etiquette,  and  with  his 
wealth  enforce  his  dishonest  schemes.  And  it  has  come  to  this  with 
many  wholesale  dealers,  when  selecting  their  customers  they  will 
say :  "  We  do  not  care  a  fig  as  to  what  Mr.  A.  is  worth ;  all  we  care 
to  know  is,  is  he  honest."  One  dealer  will  have  a  car  load  of  produce 
shipped  to  him  with  no  other  instructions  but  to  "  sell  and  remit 
proceeds  less  charges,"  while  another  dealer  cannot  get  a  consign- 
ment of  merchandise  to  sell  on  commission  on  any  terms. 

We  knew  a  fruit-dealer,  who  on  the  reputation  of  his  father, 
would  order  a  large  quantity  of  fruit,  and  as  soon  as  it  arrived  at 
the  depot,  would  telegraph  to  the  consignor,  "  Your  fruit  is  in  bad 
order;  will  not  receive  it.  It  is  at  the  depot  subject  to  your  order." 
The  shipper,  unaware  of  the  character  of  the  dealer,  telegraphs 
back,  "  Take  fruit ;  do  the  best  you  can ;  remit  proceeds  less  ex- 
penses." There  was  never  anything  to  remit;  the  transaction  was 
a  clean  steal.  He  did  not  continue  long  in  the  fruit  business. 

A  farmer  in  Indiana  had  a  large  crop  of  corn  on  hand,  and  he 
concluded  to  ship  it  to  a  commission  merchant  at  Cincinnati,  whose 
flaming  advertisement  he  had  read  in  the  papers  headed,  "  Produce 
received  on  consignment."  The  corn  was  shipped  by  canal.  The 
commission  merchant  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  it,  and  reported 
market  price.  The  farmer  concluded  to  have  it  held  for  a  better 
price.  After  a  few  months  he  ordered  the  commission  man,  "  to 
sell  the  corn  and  remit  proceeds."  The  corn  was  sold  and  a  state- 
ment was  made  out  and  sent  to  the  farmer,  which  charged  such 
large  sums  for  boatage,  drayage,  storage,  shrinkage,  ratage,  insu- 
rance and  commission,  that  the  amount  received  for  the  corn  when 
applied  to  the  payment  of  these  charges,  was  pretty  well  used  up, 
and  the  farmer  got  very  little  for  his  corn.  He  answered  the  com- 
mission man  thus :  "  You  lying  scoundrel ;  put  in  stealage  and  take 
it  all."  Men  run  great  risks  and  try  various  expedients  to  realize 
sudden  wealth  or  to  make  a  big  strike.  All  the  tricks  of  trade,  in 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  163 

the  end,  turn  out  unfavorable  to  those  who  attempt  them.  Those 
who  practice  them  gain  unenviable  reputations,  which  will  stick 
to  them  as  long  as  they  live,  and  follow  them  wherever  they  go. 
The  history  of  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  the  "  Tammany  steal" 
of  New  York  city,  illustrates  the  fact  that  ill-gotten  gains  do  not 
add  to  the  happiness  of  those  who  possess  them. 

A  young  man  engaged  in  the  wholesale  trade,  and  procured  a 
large  insurance  on  his  stock,  amounting  to  two  or  three  times  its 
value.  A  fire  occurred  in  his  store  soon  after.  His  stock  was  not 
consumed,  but  nearly  ruined  by  water.  The  insurance  adjusters 
enquired  into  the  matter,  and  the  result  of  their  investigation  was, 
they  offered  the  young  man  one  dollar  each  for  the  policies  he  held, 
if  he  would  surrender  them  to  the  companies  that  issued  them.  He 
accepted  the  proposition.  He  received  five  dollars  for  a  $16,000 
loss.  His  smartness  developed  itself  unfortunately  for  him.  Some 
men  will  sell  themselves  for  a  dollar.  The  penalties  from  cheating 
in  weight  or  measure,  or  misrepresenting  the  quality  of  goods  to 
secure  a  sale,  always  recoils  on  the  man  who  practices  such  impo- 
sitions. You  must  remember,  every  man  has  his  friends,  and  there 
is  but  one  safe  way  to  do  business,  to  treat  everybody  as  you  would 
a  friend,  and  you  will  never  lack  for  patronage. 

HON.  JOHN  FRIEDLEY'S  MOTTO. 

"  Self-dependence,  self-reliance." 

"  It  is  a  mistaken  notion,"  he  writes,  "  that  capital  alone  is  neces- 
sary to  success  in  business.  If  a  man  has  head  and  hands  suited  to 
his  business,  it  will  soon  procure  him  capital.  My  observations 
through  life  satisfy  me  that  at  least  nine-tenths  of  the  most  success- 
ful in  business,  start  in  life  without  any  reliance  except  upon  their 
own  hardened  hands — hoe  their  own  row  from  the  jump." 

AMOS  LAWRENCE'S  WAY  OF  DEALING  WITH  CUSTOMERS. 

A  country  trader  bought  a  few  yards  of  cloth  at  ten  dollars  a 
yard.  On  measuring  the  piece  at  home  it  ran  short  a  quarter  of 
a  yard.  The  trader  was  almost  afraid  to  speak  of  so  small  a  matter 
to  so  courtly  a  merchant.  On  his  next  visit  to  Boston,  he  plucked 
up  courage  enough  to  say :  "  Mr.  Lawrence,  when  I  was  here  a  few 


164  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

months  ago,  I  bought  a  few  yards  of  fine  broad  cloth."  "  Yes,  at  ten 
dollars  a  yard."  "  According  to  my  measure,  it  fell  short  a  quarter." 
"  Fell  short  a  quarter  ?  That  will  never  do ;  it  should  have  overrun 
a  quarter."  Turning  to  the  book-keeper  he  sad :  "  Credit  this  gen- 
tleman with  a  half  a  yard  of  our  best  broad  cloth."  That  customer 
was  nailed  for  life. — "SurMffk." 

HUGH    MILLER. 

Hugh  Miller's  worthy  uncle  used  to  advise  him,  "In  all  your 
dealings  give  your  neighbor  the  cast  of  the  bank — "good  measure, 
heaped  up,  and  running  over" — and  you  will  not  lose  by  it  in  the 
end." 

Hugh  Miller  speaks  of  a  mason  with  whom  he  served  his  appren- 
ticeship as  one  who  "put  his  conscience  into  every  stone  that  he  laid." 

MAXIMS   OF   SUCCESSFUL   MEN. 

"  Be  frank ;  say  what  you  mean ;  do  what  you  say ;  so  shall  your 
friends  know  and  take  it  for  granted  that  you  mean  to  do  what  is 
just  and  right. 

"  Never  forget  a  favor,  for  ingratitude  is  the  basest  trait  of  man's 
heart.  Always  honor  your  country,  and  remember  that  our  country 
is  the  very  best  poor  man's  country  in  the  world." — John  Gregg. 

A  Boston  merchant  had  these  two  maxims  for  his  guide : 

"  Do  you  what  you  undertake  thoroughly." 

"  Be  faithful  in  all  accepted  trusts." 

He  says  of  them,  "  I  am  satisfied  they  have  served  me  well  three 
score  years."  And  so  they  did,  for  he  was  one  of  the  solid  men  ot 
Boston — a  millionare. 

"  As  a  first  and  leading  principle,  let  every  transaction  be  of  that 
pure  and  honest  character  that  you  would  not  be  ashamed  to  have 
appear  before  the  whole  world  as  clearly  as  to  yourself.  It  is  of 
the  highest  consequence  that  you  should  not  only  cultivate  correct 
principles,  but  that  you  should  place  your  standard  high  as  to 
require  great  vigilance  in  living  up  to  it." — Amos  Lawrence. 

"The  most  trifling  actions  that  affect  a  man's  credit  are  to  be 
regarded.  The  sound  of  your  hammer  at  five  in  the  morning,  or 
nine  at  night,  heard  by  a  creditor  makes  him  easy  six  mouths 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  165 

longer;  but  if  he  sees  you  at  the  billiard-table,  or  hears  your  voice 
at  a  tavern,  when  you  should  be  at  work,  he  sends  for  his.  money 
the  next  day,  demands  it  before  he  can  receive  it  in  a  lump.'' — 
Franklin. 

JOHN  MC  DONOGH'S  RULES. 

Upon  the  tomb  of  John  McDonogh,  the  millionare  of  New  Or- 
leans,  are  engraved  thirteen  maxims  which  he  adopted  for  his  guid- 
ance through  life,  and  no  doubt  had  much  to  do  in  making  it  a  very 
successful  one : 

"  1.  Remember  always  that  labor  is  one  of  the  conditions  of  our 
existence.  2.  Time  is  gold ;  throw  not  one  minute  away,  but  place 
each  one  to  account.  3.  Do  unto  all  men  as  you  would  be  done  by. 
4.  Never  put  off  till  to-morrow  what  you  can  do  to-day.  5.  Never 
bid  another  to  do  what  you  can  do  yourself.  6.  Never  covet  what 
is  not  your  own.  7.  Never  think  any  matter  so  trifling  as  not  to 
desire  notice.  8.  Never  give  out  that  which  does  not  first  come  in. 
9.  Never  spend  but  to  produce.  10.  Let  the  greatest  order  regu- 
late the  transactions  of  your  life.  11.  Study  in  your  course  of  life 
to  do  the  greatest  amount  of  good.  12.  Deprive  yourself  of  noth- 
ing necessary  to  your  comfort,  but  live  in  an  honorable  simplicity 
and  frugality.  13.  Labor,  then,  to  the  last  moment  of  your  exis- 
tence." 

BOOK-KEEPING. 

No  considerable  amount  of  business  can  be  carried  on  systemat- 
ically, or  successfully  without  a  careful  and  accurate  account,  being 
kept  of  every  transaction.  The  manufacturer  figures  his  profit  on 
a  yard  of  muslin  at  a  quarter  of  a  cent  per  yard.  The  banker  and 
broker  do  certain  kinds  ot  brokerage  business  for  an  eighth  and 
even  for  a  sixteenth  of  one  per  per  cent,  commission.  It  is  not  only 
the  cents  that  have  to  be  looked  after,  but  the  fractions  of  a  cent, 
and  its  through  the  careful  watching  and  accounting  for  these  frac- 
tions, that  the  great  enterprises  of  the  country  are  made  successful. 
Every  drop  of  oil  used  upon  the  rolling  stock  of  a  railroad,  or  a 
loom  in  a  cotton  factory,  is  accounted  for  in  the  account  of  running 
expenses.  Every  thread  of  waste  made  in  a  cotton  factory  is  weighed. 
It  is  utterly  impossible  for  a  large  establishment  of  any  kind  to  do 


166  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

business,  unless  every  item  of  the  business  is  "  booked."  And  what- 
ever is  advantageous  for  a  corporation  to  do,  is  also  of  equal  advan- 
tage to  individuals,  so  far  as  the  keeping  of  book  accounts  is 
concerned.  No  matter  how  small  a  business  a  man  may  do,  even 
if  he  is  only  a  clerk  or  a  day  laborer,  he  should  keep  account  of  all 
his  transactions  with  his  employer.  Unless  he  does  so,  he  is  not 
fitted  to  do  business  for  himself,  and  needs  a  guardian  to  look  after 
his  interests.  Allowing  every  man  to  be  honest,  there  is  no  man 
perfect,  and  mistakes  are  often  made,  and  the  only  way  to  avoid 
multiplying  them,  is  to  keep  a  complete  record  of  every  item  of 
business  done. 

The  improved  methods  of  book-keeping  are  the  best  for  adoption. 
An  endless  amount  of  expensive  litigation  often  results  from  hav- 
ing no  system  of  recording  business  transactions  daily  as  they  occur. 
The  man  who  has  no  system,  is  at  the  mercy  of  every  dishonest 
man  he  may  have  dealings  with.  We  heard  of  a  country  trader 
who  had  a  novel  way  of  keeping  his  accounts,  and  it  was  thus : 
When  a  customer  purchased  anything  on  credit,  the  merchant 
would  write  the  customer's  name  on  a  slip  of  paper,  and  the  amount 
of  the  purchase,  and  throw  the  slip  into  a  barrel  kept  lor  the  pur- 
pose, under  the  counter.  When  a  customer  came  in  to  "  settle  up," 
he  would  empty  his  barrel  upon  the  floor,  and  examine  all  the  slips 
to  find  those  against  the  name  of  the  particular  customer,  and  by 
these  he  settled  his  account.  In  the  State  of  New  York,  a  farmer 
kept  his  accounts  on'  his  cellar  door,  and  he  was  obliged  to  carry 
the  door  into  court,  in  a  law-suit  he  was  engaged  in,  to  prove  the 
original  entry.  Doors  are  not  very  convenient  "  records"  to  carry 
around  to  prove  an  original  entry.  It  requires  something  besides 
simply  knowledge  of  the  multiplication  table  to  know  how  to  keep 
a  set  of  books  in  a  way  that  will  stand  the  test,  when  an  account 
has  to  be  verified  by  them. 

THE  VALUE   OF   A  COMMERCIAL   EDUCATION. 

The  best  advice  we-  have  to  offer  is,  for  every  young  man  who 
possibly  can,  to  avail  himself  of  a  scholarship  in  some  first  class 
commercial  college.  No  matter  what  it  costs,  it  will  be  the  best 
investment  any  young  man  can  make,  if  he  ever  expects  to  super- 
intend his  own  personal  affairs.  Hundreds  of  men  have  failed 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  167 

simply  because  they  did  not  understand  how  to  keep  their  accounts 
correctly.  It  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  lose  a  hundred,  or  a  thousand 
dollars,  even  in  one's  business,  if  he  has  much  to  do,  if  he  is  igno- 
rant of  a  correct  method.  It  matters  not  what  business  a  young 
man  may  engage  in,  there  will  come  a  time  when  such  knowledge 
will  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  him.  No  one  need  expect  to  nil 
any  place  of  public  trust,  who  is  destitute  of  the  knowledge  of  book- 
keeping. So,  if  he  pays  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  dollars  for  a 
commercial  education,  he  is  absolutely  sure  of  getting  it  back,  and 
ten  times  over,  should  he  live  to  be  fifty  years  old.  Then  in  case 
of  failure  of  health,  or  the  loss  of  a  leg,  he  has  talent  he  can  al- 
ways make  available. 

We  wish  to  add  this  statement,  that  young  men  who  have  grad- 
uated from  the  best  colleges  in  the  land,  require  after  that,  a  com- 
mercial education  to  do  business,  just  as  much  as  a  farmer  boy.  It 
is  a  fact,  that  ministers  as  a  rule  are  the  very  poorest  class  of  men 
in  the  country  to  do  business  for  themselves  or  any  one  else.  If  the 
minister  is  well  fitted  for  the  "  ministerial  office,"  he  will  most 
surely  fail  should  he  leave  his  calling  for  a  business  where  finan- 
cial ability  is  required.  A  commercial  education  deals  with  abso- 
lute facts,  it  is  all  facts.  No  abstract  theories  or  suppositions,  or 
speculations,  current  to-day  and  obsolete  to-morrow.  Figures  are 
stubborn  facts  that  are  unchangable. 

A  few  years  ago  some  parties  were  prospecting  for  oil  in  Canada. 
They  called  upon  an  old  farmer,  and  proposed  to  him  to  bore  for 
oil  on  his  farm,  offering  to  give  him  one-eighth  of  all  the  oil  ob- 
tained as  royalty.  The  old  farmer  studied  over  the  proposition  for 
sometime,  and  finally  declined  their  offer.  He  however,  made  them 
a  proposition  which  they  were  very  willing  to  accept,  in  preference 
to  their  own,  which  was,  that  "one-sixteenth"  instead  of  one-eighth 
should  be  the  royalty  granted.  This  is  only  a  sample  of  the  igno- 
rance of  thousands  of  farmers,  and  shows  the  absolute  necessity  of 
farmer  boys  having  a  commercial  education. 

ADVERTISE   YOUR   BUSINESS. 

The  good  old  days  of  our  great-grand-fathers,  with  their  time- 
honored  customs  have  passed  away.  The  modes  of  travel  are  all 
changed.  The  saddle  and  stage-coach  have  given  way  to  the  steam 


168  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

wagon.  Lightning  carries  the  news  around  the  world  every  day. 
Telephones  bring  together  friends,  hundreds  of  miles  apart,  to  chat 
around  their  own  firesides,  seated  in  their  easy  chairs,  although 
vision  is  dim  to  look  out  into  the  darkness  and  see  their  familiar 
faces,  yet  we  listen  to  their  sweet  and  welcome  voices,  and  know 
they  cannot  be  far  away,  when  we  can  hold  sweet  conversation  with 
them  by  the  hour.  This  remarkable  discovery  is  of  great  impor- 
tance as  well  as  convenience.  Young  people  can  do  their  courting 
with  much  less  inconvenience.  Sickness  or  storm,  heat  or  cold  will 
not  interrupt  an  evening  chat.  If  merchants  could  have  telephones 
to  every  house  to  announce  the  first  arrival  of  new  goods,  all  the 
latest  styles  daily,  it  would  facilitate  keeping  their  customers  al- 
ways posted.  This,  at  present  is  an  impossibility.  The  newspaper 
of  to-day  is  the  least  expensive,  and  the  surest  medium  to  reach  the 
intelligent  masses.  Hardly  a  family  that  does  not  take  one  or  more 
papers.  Whatever  they  see  in  their  paper  they  read  and  believe. 
Advertisements  are  read  with  greater  interest  than  the  President's 
message,  or  the  Bible  by  the  masses  of  readers.  Where  there 
are  children  they  always  keep  posted  with  all  the  advertisers,  and 
what  they  advertise.  If  an  article  is  wanted  they  know  just  who 
has  it.  In  fact,  they  do  not  know  any  other  dealer.  His  name  is 
not  in  "our  paper,"  and  with  them  he  might  just  as  well  be  in 
Joppa  or  dead.  Advertising  in  papers  that  are  given  away  is  sim- 
ply throwing  money  away. 

It  is  a  fast  age,  everybody  is  in  a  hurry.  The  merchant  that  is  up 
to  the  times  is  anxious  to  turn  his  goods  over  as  often  as  possible. 
14  Quick  returns  and  small  profits,"  is  his  motto.  The  customer  has 
no  time  to  spend  hunting  up  the  man  who  does  not  advertise;  in 
fact  he  does  not  want  to  know  him.  The  man  that  advertises  has 
everything  that  is  new.  Customers  like  to  see  new  goods,  even  if 
they  are  not  prepared  to  buy.  The  merchant  who  does  not  adver- 
tise loses  the  best  class  of  customers,  because  his  goods  are  all  old 
style.  If  he  buys  fresh  goods,  and  up  to  style,  his  customers  will 
not  find  it  out  until  the  goods  are  "  too  common,"  consequently  he 
is  ever  three  to  six  months  behind.  When  the  first  flurry  is  over, 
prices  have  to  be  cut  down  to  make  sales.  The  man  who  don't  ad- 
vertise, never  has  as  many  customers  to  look  at  his  goods,  and  can- 
not sell  as  cheap  as  the  man  who  advertises  People  from  a  dis- 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  169 

tance  always  go  straight  to  the  store  of  the  man  whose  name  they 
have  seen  "  in  the  papers."  They  know  he  has  the  goods. 

In  the  good  old  days  of  our  ancestors,  every  housewife  made  all 
the  cloth  for  the  entire  family.  "  Store  goods"  did  not  have  the 
place  that  they  do  now.  It  required  only  a  veiy  few  men  then  to  do 
the  business.  Only  in  large  cities  would  there  be  usually  more 
than  one  man  in  any  one  branch  of  trade.  Everybody  would  know 
him.  It  would  make  no  difference  about  his  advertising.  In  fact, 
but  few  papers  were  published.  A  merchant  cannot  do  business 
now  as  they  did  fifty  years  ago.  He  must  keep  up  with  the  times. 
If  his  neighbor  advertises  he  must.  The  best  advertised  man  leads 
the  trade.  Men  do  not  fail  by  too  much  advertising,  if  judiciously 
made.  If  he  has  a  small  stock,  and  there  are  not  customers  enough, 
if  they  gave  him  all  their  patronage,  it  would  not  pay  him  to  ad- 
vertise to  any  great  extent.  He  cannot  make  customers  if  the  people 
are  not  within  his  reach.  A  good  location  in  a  live  community 
where  there  is  wealth,  is  the  place  to  make  money. 

"  People  do  not  read  advertisements."  A  gentleman  in  Philadel- 
phia advertised  for  a  lost  kitten.  His  door  bell  rang  early  next 
morning;  a  half  dozen  boys  were  there,  each  had  the  "  lost  kitten." 
He  looked  up  street  and  more  boys  were  coming  with  kittens,  and 
down  street  and  boys  were  hurrying  along,  each  had  a  cat  or  kitten ; 
in  fact  the  streets  seemed  to  be  alive,  black  with  boys  bringing 
home  the  lost  kitten  utterly  regardless  of  the  size,  age  and  color 
described  in  the  advertisement.  Some  of  them  had  "  puppies."  It 
took  about  three  days  to  stop  the  "  Mister  here  is  your  lost  kitten ;" 
"  Mister,  is  this  your  dog  ?" 

People  don't  read  the  papers?  Well,  when  a  hungry  man  buys  a 
ticket  to  a  church  dinner  and  don't  eafhis  money's  worth,  water  will 
run  up  hill.  If  there  is  anything  on  the  table  he  don't  taste  of,  it 
will  be  because  he  cannot  see  it,  or  the  waiter  find  it.  A  good  many 
people  are  like  the  man  who  went  into  Newburyport,  Mass.,  with  a 
turkey,  which  he  sold  to  a  hotel  keeper  for  a  dollar,  and  remarked  to 
the  landlord  that  he  would  probably  take  dinner  with  him  before 
he  returned  home.  He  was  on  hand  for  dinner,  the  only  guest;  the 
turkey  was  there  too,  nicely  cooked,  and  when  he  finished  the  din- 
ner, nothing  but  the  bones  were  left,  He  paid  twenty-five  cents  for 
the  dinner,  had  eaten  a  nice  turkey,  a  royal  dinner,  and  had  seventy- 


170  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

five  cents  to  carry  home.    This  is  a  fair  sample  of  a  class  of  men 
who  expect  to  get  a  great  deal  for  nothing. 

If  no  one  advertised,  it  would  be  the  very  best  reason  why  you 
should,  and  as  long  as  some  do  advertise,  it  is  the  best  of  all  reasons 
why  you  must,  or  be  left  behind.  People  used  to  ride  in  lumbering 
stage-coaches,  or  travel  with  their  own  conveyances  to  market  to 
buy  their  goods.  They  do  not  do  it  now,  not  even  the  old  fogies. 
Goods  used  to  be  transported  by  ox  teams,  but  now  express  trains 
are  too  slow.  A  good  newspaper  carries  your  card,  your  advertise- 
ment, into  thousands  of  homes  to  be  read  by  10,000  or  100,000  people. 
People  talk  less  than  they  used  to,  and  read  more.  They  read  the 
papers,  and  take  it  for  granted  everybody  else  does.  Every  family 
that  subscribes  to  a  weekly  paper  reads  it,  advertisements  and  all. 
A  gentleman  on  the  cars,  or  steamboat  buys  a  paper  to  read  what 
interests  him.  In  every  first  class  paper,  advertisements  are  all 
classified.  It  takes  but  a  moment  to  find  the  line  of  business  one 
is  interested  in  knowing  about.  Advertise  your  business  if  you 
wish  to  do  business.  If  you  do  not  want  customers  to  know  what 
you  have  for  sale,  by  all  means  keep  your  name  out  of  the  papers. 

RESERVE  POWER. 

The  successful  general  does  not  exhibit  the  strength  of-  his  army 
by  a  grand  dress  parade  in  front  of  the  enemy.  He  deploys  skir- 
mishers to  draw  him  out,  to  learn  his  position  and  strength;  and' 
not  to  exhibit  his  own.  When  the  battle  opens  the  veterans  are 
held  in  reserve,  only  to  be  brought  into  action  in  case  the  enemy 
presses  too  hard,  or  he  has  not  force  sufficient  to  hold  them  in 
check,  or  when  a  flank  movement  is  attempted.  He  never  employs 
more  men  than  is  necessary;  never  wastes  his  ammunition. 

A  good  debater  never  shows  his  strong  points  first.  He  holds  his 
"  big  guns"  in  reserve  to  the  last,  using  only  what  fire  is  necessary 
to  checkmate  his  opponents,  only  to  knock  down  "  the  pins"  he 
sets  up. 

The  great  secret  of  success  in  business  is  to  economize  one's  re- 
sources in  every  way  possible,  expending  only  where  and  when 
absolutely  necessary.  The  expending  of  money  lavishly  without 
getting  an  equivalent,  is  useless,  and  hinders  the  early  accomplish- 
ment of  the  object  sought.  Always  keep  a  good  reserve  on  hand. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  171 

Don't  waste  your  ammunition.  You  have  none  to  waste.  Don't 
fire  your  gun  for  the  noise,  the  report.  Many  a  general  has  won  a 
victory  by  resolutely  sticking  by  the  "  quaker  guns,"  when  he  was 
bankrupt  in  war  material  and  fighting  stock. 

Hundreds  of  business  men  on  the  extreme  verge  of  bankruptcy, 
have,  by  a  brave  heart  and  determined  will,  by  keeping  right  straight 
along,  keeping  their  mouths  shut  to  their  real  condition,  weathered 
the  storm,  and  nobody  been  hurt.  It  requires  nerve  power,  will 
power.  A  nervous,  timid  man  is  sure  to  betray  himself.  The  mo- 
ment  the  man  himself  becomes  alarmed,  and  his  creditors  know  it, 
they  will  be  greatly  alarmed,  and  the  wheels  will  have  to  stop. 
Said  Admiral  Farragut  in  a  letter  to  his  wife :  "  As  to  being  pre- 
pared for  defeat,  I  certainly  am  not.  Any  man  who  is  prepared  for 
defeat  would  be  half  defeated  before  he  commenced.  I  hope  for 
success.  Shall  do  all  in  my  power  to  secure  it,  and  trust  to  God  for 
the  rest." 

Hold  your  reserve  power,  all  you  have,  to  the  last,  to  the  last  mo- 
ment. Never  show  your  hand  only  when  absolutely  necessary. 
The  great  railroad  magnates  do  not  advertise  their  plans.  They  do 
not  boast  of  the  millions  they  have  in  reserve  to  buy  up  some  bank- 
rupt railroad.  They  never  show  their  heads  or  hands  only  as 
receivers  -of  dividends.  Reserve  power  is  capital,  it  is  better  than 
money  in  the  bank,  it  is  credit  on  the  street  current  any  where. 

Young  man  keep  a  good  reserve  on  hand.  Add  to  it  every  day ; 
it  will  pay  you  more  than  a  hundred  per  cent,  interest  annually.  It 
is  the  anchor  and  ballast  that  holds  the  ship  and  keeps  it  right  side 
up  through  storm  and  tempest.  Your  reserve  power  is  your  anchor 
and  ballast  to  hold  you  right  side  up,  that  you  may  outride  the 
financial  storms  and  crises  that  are  sure  to  come  sometime,  some- 
where, and  perhaps  when  you  least  expect  them.  If  you  have  the 
anchor  throw  it  overboard,  it  will  hold,  and  you  will  be  safe.  We 
wish  to  be  clear  at  this  point,  as  we  have  been  a  victim,  and  paid 
dearly  for  the  information  we  give  you.  It  has  cost  us  more  than 
$10,000  to  learn  it.  It  may  be  worth  ten  times  that  amount  to  you. 
It  is  worth  a  HUNDRED  DOLLARS  to  every  young  man  to  know  this 
fact.  It  will  be  worth  from  $1,000  to  $100,000  to  some  young  man 
who  has  read  these  pages,  and  acts  according  to  the  spirit  of  their 
teachings.  Young  man,  HOLD  ON. 


LAND  SURVEYING  IN  THE  WEST. 

SYSTEM   ADOPTED    BY   THE   UNITED   STATES  GOVERNMENT. 

The  government  adopted  the  present  system  of  surveying  the 
public  lands  in  1802.  It  is  the  most  complete  system  that  could 
have  been  devised.  It  is  as  easy  to  understand  as  the  multiplica- 
tion table,  and  is  known  as  the  "  Rectangular  System."  The  first 
step  in  the  survey  of  the  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  was  to 
fix  upon  a  base  line.  This  was  established  at  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Francis  river,  in  the  State  of  Arkansas,  and  runs  thence  west.  Par- 
allel lines  run  every  six  miles  north  of  the  base  lines;  the  six  mile 
spaces  are  known  as  "  Congressional  Townships ;"  each  one  is  num- 
bered commencing  at  the  base  line.  The  first  Township  is  "  No. 
1,  north,"  and  so  on  consecutively.  Township  No.  65,  north,  runs 
through  Keokuk,  Iowa;  No.  78,  north,  takes  in  Davenport,  Iowa 
City,  Des  Moines,  <&c.;  No.  100,  north,  is  the  north  tier  of  townships 
of  the  State  of  Iowa;  No.  117,  north,  takes  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 

A  meridian  line  was  also  astronomically  calculated  and  estab- 
lished. It  intersects  the  Base  Line  at  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas 
river,  and  runs  north  through  the  State  of  Missouri,  Iowa,  and  Min- 
nesota. This  line  is  known  as  the  "  Fifth  Principal  Meridian," 
usually  written  abbreviated  thus,  "  5th  P.  M."  Washington,  D.  C., 
is  the  base  for  all  meridian  lines.  Parallel  to  these  meridian  lines 
other  lines  are  run  approximately  six  miles  apart.  Each  one  of  these 
six  miles  spaces  is  designated  as  a  "  Range."  They  are  numbered 
consecutively  from  the  meridian  line.  If  east,  the  first  space  would 
be  Range  No.  1,  east.  If  west,  the  first  space  would  be  Range  No. 
1,  west.  In  Iowa,  there  are  but  five  ranges  east  of  the  "  5th  P.  M.," 
and  about  50  west  of  it.  These  lines  cross  the  Township  lines  every 
six  miles,  and  divide  the  land  into  squares  of  six  miles  on  each  side, 
making  thirty-six  square  miles  to  every  "  Congressional  Township." 
Each  square  mile  has  320  rods  on  each  of  its  four  sides,  and  contains 
640  acres  of  land,  and  is  called  a  section,  and  numbered,  commenc- 
ing at  the  north-east  corner  of  a  Township,  which  is  No.  1 ;  No.  2  is 
the  next  one  to  the  left,  and  so  on.  No.  6  is  at  the  extreme  north-west 
corner;  No.  7  is  immediately  south  of  No.  6;  No.  12  is  south  of  No. 
1 ;  No.  13  is  south  of  No.  12  Numbering  from  right  to  left,  and  left 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY.  173 

to  right,  No.  36  comes  at  the  south-east  corner.  Every  section  sur- 
veyed by  government  is  divided  up  into  sixteen  equal  parts,  each 
part  being  80  rods  square,  and  containing  forty  acres.  (See  diagram 
No.  5,  page  175).  Each  forty  acre  tract  is  described  separately. 

This  plan  would  be  perfection  if  the  earth  was  flat,  instead  of 
being  spherical.  As  all  meridian  lines  run  north  and  converge  to 
the  north  pole,  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  nearer  they  approach 
the  pole  the  closer  together  will  be  the  lines,  and  the  "  square  sec- 
tions" would  soon  be  lost  and  out  of  square,  before  many  townships 
were  surveyed  off.  To  overcome  this  difficulty  new  base  lines  are 
run,  and  are  called  "  correction  lines,"  and  from  these  new  lines 
work  commences  again  on  the  "  square,"  precisely  the  same  as  it 
did  at  the  principal  base  line  in  Arkansas.  Sometimes  in  making 
these  correction  lines  a  section  contains  less  than  640  acres;  or  it 
may  contain  more.  In  either  case  these  sections  are  classed  as 
"fractional  sections." 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  owners  of  real  estate  to  know 
whether  they  have  good  title  to  their  lands,  and  above  all  to  know 
whether  they  are  located  where  they  suppose  them  to  be.  We  have 
seen  so  many  mistakes,  and  so  many  disappointed  land-owners, 
that  we  have  inserted  diagrams  (see  pages  175  and  176)  showing 
how  lands  are  described,  that  each  one  can  for  himself  draw  a 
correct  plat  of  his  lands.  Unless  one  can  do  this,  he  never  will 
know  whether  his  lands  are  correctly  assessed,  or  whether  he  pays 
taxes  on  his  own  land,  or  somebody's  else.  Assessors  are  careless, 
and  often  ignorant  of  their  duties,  poor  scholars  and  miserable 
writers.  Auditors  and  their  clerks  make  mistakes.  The  tax  re- 
ceiver cannot  correct  errors,  unless  the  tax-payer  is  able  to  point  them 
out,  and  then  require  a  new  and  correct  description  to  be  made  in  his 
assessment.  The  tax-payer  must  not  pay  on  an  erroneous  description, 
as  some  do,  thinking  it  will  be  "  all  right"  if  he  has  paid  anything 
once  a  year.  The  slightest  error  in  an  assessment  may  subject  the 
owner  to  absolute  loss  of  his  land.  To  be  safe  he  must  know  when 
he  buys  a  tract,  its  exact  location,  and  be  able  to  locate  it  upon  a 
sectional  map.  If  he  knows  how  to  do  that,  no  one  can  deceive 
him  as  to  where  the  land  lies.  If  he  understands  the  system  of  land 
surveying  he  can  in  one  minute  fix  the  exact  position  of  his  land. 
If  he  does  not,  he  will  make  a  first  class  dupe  for  some  land  swind- 


174  KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 

ler.  A  swindler  will  say  that  the  tract  he  desires  to  sell  lies  just 
outside  of  Des  Moines,  the  capital  of  Iowa,  or  in  the  suburbs  of  St 
Louis,  Missouri,  or  St.  Paul,  Minnesota ;  or  wherever  he  may  think 
he  can  inveigle  a  customer  to  think  he  wants  to  purchase  land. 
It  is  always  close  up  to  some  very  important  city  or  town,  where  all 
the  great  railways  of  the  country  will  form  a  junction;  while  the 
deed  you  buy  may  locate  your  purchase  hundreds  of  miles  away 
from  human  habitation. 

A  few  months  ago  a  lot  of  swindlers  formed  a  company  to  sell  out 
'-'  North  Denver,  Colorado,"  at  $1  per  lot.  The  lots  were  forty  miles 
from  Denver  in  the  sand  hills,  and  utterly  worthless.  Thousands 
were  taken  in,  and  a  million  would  probably  have  been,  had  not  the 
post-office  department  cut  short  the  game  of  the  sharpers,  by  gob- 
bling up  all  their  letters,  and  returning  the  money  enclosed  to  the 
senders.  A  mistake  in  a  description  will  often  invalidate  the  title 
to  land  that  the  grantor  honestly  intends  to  convey.  A  mistake  in 
the  number  of  the  Range  or  Township,  will  make  six  miles  differ- 
ence in  the  supposed  location  of  the  tract.  It  may  make  fifty  or  a 
hundred  miles.  A  mistake  in  the  number  of  the  section,  or  part  of 
a  section  is  equally  unfortunate  for  the  buyer.  We  have  known 
instances  where  men  have  lost  their  farms  by  a  simple  clerical  error 
in  the  drawing  of  the  deed,  by  inserting  east  for  west,  or  south  for 
north.  A  man  may  pay  taxes  for  twenty  years  on  a  wrong  descrip- 
tion, and  lose  his  land  in  the  meantime,  by  not  knowing  of  the 
error,  the  piece  he  should  have  paid  on  having  been  sold  for  taxes, 
and  after  five  years  it  has  become  past  redemption. 


EXPLANATION   OF  DIAGRAMS. 

Diagram  No.  1  represents  a  square  section,  containing  640  acres.  Each  side 
measures  330  rods. 

Nos.  2  and  3  represent  sections  divided  in  halves,  east  and  west,  and  north 
and  south. 

No.  4  a  section  cut  into  quarters  of  160  acres  each ;  each  quarter  is  160  rods  square. 

No.  5  shows  a  section  divided  into  sixteen  parts,  which  is  the  completed  survey 
by  the  United  States  Government. 

Nos.  6,  7  and  8  show  the  various  sub-divisions  that  are  often  made  in  sections ; 
42,  55,  58  and  61  being  ten  acre  tracts,  and  43,  56,  57  and  60  thirty  acre  tracts. 

With  these  diagrams  and  a  sectional  map,  no  one  need  be  mistaken  as  to  the 
location  of  any  tract  of  land  he  may  be  interested  in. 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY. 


175 


DIAGRAMS  OF   SECTIONS,   SHOWING   SUB-DIVISIONS. 
No.  1.  No.  2. 


No.  3. 


No.  5. 


10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

No.  4. 


No.  6. 


26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

32 

33 

176 


KENT'S  NEW  COMMENTARY 

DIAGRAMS — CONTINUED. 


No.  7. 


No.  8. 


34 


40 


35 


37 


39 


41 


43 

; 

4? 

48      49 

50 

44 

45 

46 









43 

51 

52 

53 

54 

5£ 

56 

~~ 

- 

~~ 

57 

58 

59 

60           |  61 

ABBREVIATED  DESCRIPTIONS   OF   SECTIONAL   SUB-DIVISIONS. 
N,  north;  S,  south;  E,  east;   W,  west. 


1— Whole  Section.      22— 

2— N^.  23— 

3— 8^. 


43—8  30  W^  W 

44—  EI^  W 

45-  WK  E 


5—  E^. 

6— 
7— 


10— 
11— 
12— 


26— 

27—  E^ 

28—  W^ 

29—  E 


31— 
32— 
33— 


47— 

48—  E 


50—  E 
51_W 
52—  E 
53_ 

54— 


15—  SE34 

16—  SW 

17— 
18— 
19— 

20— 

21— 


35— 
36— 

37— 


39—  N 

40—  S^ 

41—  S 


56—  E  30 
57_W  30 

58—  8EM 
59_Ni^' 
60—  W 
61— 

62—  W^ 

63—  EM  S 


SWM- 


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